Partial-Coverage Co-Payment Funding

Picture this

Think of a government coupon that covers half the price of a healthy grocery bill while requiring families to pay the rest out of pocket. This partial coverage stretches government funds to serve twice as many families while ensuring parents select cost-effective providers where they are willing to invest their own money.

What the evidence says

Inflation reduced public voucher coverage from initial full tuition to 56% of average private school tuition by 1998, requiring low-income target families (strata 1 and 2) to make up the remaining 44% in co-payments while maintaining a 15 to 17 percentage point increase in private school enrollment.

Who was studied

N = 125,000 voucher recipients across Bogotá and major Colombian cities (1995–1998 cohort).

How

Longitudinal administrative program evaluation tracking voucher subsidy purchasing power relative to private school tuition fees over time.

What to do

Structure school vouchers as partial tuition subsidies with family co-payments to extend program coverage across broader target populations while maintaining cost discipline.

From the source

"While initially the voucher covered most tuition fees, the government did to increase the voucher to keep pace with inflation and by 1998 when we collected data, the voucher covered about 56% of tuition."

Are Educational Vouchers Only Redistributive?

Tags

• voucher design
• cost sharing
• education finance