Colombia-based social enterprise Bive Healthcare joined Business Call to Action (BCtA) in May 2017 with a pledge to provide more than 27,000 low-income clients with access to timely, high-quality and low-cost healthcare services. To achieve this, the company will scale up its inclusive health model to three new regions across Colombia by 2020.

Doctors working for the public health system also face severe challenges: their income is 75 percent less than doctors in the private market, and they often wait for months to receive payments. For this reason, most doctors prefer to work outside the public health system. Colombians who can’t afford private coverage face long wait times as a result, and receive low-quality services. Delayed diagnosis of disease contributes to poor health outcomes and decreases workers’ productivity and incomes.
 
Bive helps low-income people to access high-quality, private healthcare services by connecting them to its network of specialists, who provide preferential times and prices – enabling timely diagnosis to prevent complications. Its network of more than 135 medical specialists, laboratory test and wellness services guarantees users an appointment within seven days at a discount of up to 70 percent of market price. The company also connects doctors with thousands of potential clients, 90 percent of whom are from low-income communities, and ensures immediate payment for their services.
 
This inclusive business model involves user memberships at a rate significantly lower than that of private insurance plans. The company is able to offer preferential pricing since membership only covers diagnosis and prevention; treatment must be managed by the public health system. However to assist clients with obtaining timely treatment, Bive provides information on how to get the most out of the public system, including legal advice.

Users can access Bive’s services through a low-cost membership that can either paid directly by through associations, employee funds or cooperatives. The company’s call centre provides users with information about its services and enables them to schedule appointments with specialists on a range of issues, including oral and vision problems. Additionally, Bive develops social programmes on health with its communities and partners, helping them to access diagnosis and treatment for previously identified health risk factors, including: Healthy Smiles Project, which facilitates access to basic dental care and specialized dental care for 1250 children from base of the pyramid; Sonrisas Cafeteras (“Coffee Smiles”), which provides 900 coffee growers with oral health rehabilitation, prophylaxis and education; Vision Cafetera (“Coffee Vision”), which detects and treats preventable blindness causes such as cataract and glaucoma for 1000 coffee growers so they can keep generating income for their families by restoring their vision through the use of glasses or low complexity surgery.
 
As the first healthcare service provider in Colombia catering to low-income communities, Bive looks forward to robust growth among rural communities. Indeed, of the company’s 21,000 members in 2016, 8,000 were coffee farmers and their families. By the end of 2017, it aims to provide access to early diagnosis of visual impairments, including cataracts and glaucoma, for 1,000 growers in the Caldas region – critical for maintaining their livelihoods.

About Bive: Social enterprise Bive allows low-income families to access timely, affordable and high-quality private healthcare services from its network of more than 130[l4]  providers in Colombia’s Caldas Department. Its providers range from specialized physicians to diagnostic and well-being services. In addition to matching its members with affordable private diagnosis and prevention, the company advises patients about their rights to treatment in the public health system. Bive has also developed social-impact projects focused on the unique health needs in the communities where it works, including among coffee growers. For more information about Bive and its inclusive approach to healthcare (in Spanish), visit http://bive.co