IMSS-Bienestar to Cover All of Mexico by 2023

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said last Friday that his administration aims for all of Mexico to be covered by the IMSS-Bienestar health program by the first half of 2023. With this, the federal government would assume control of the public health service around the country. This move aims to improve healthcare services in Mexico, said López Obrador.

"We hope that this year we will have 13 to 15 states and that in the first half of next year we will have all the states. We also want to make it clear that it is voluntary. If a state government does not accept, there is no problem. We are going to continue transferring the resources that by law correspond to them," said López Obrador during a visit to Tlaxcala. He added that there will be no retaliation to any state that does not want to be part of the IMSS-Bienestar program.

As of August 2022, only Nayarit, Tlaxcala and Colima are affiliated to IMSS-Bienestar, while Oaxaca and Sonora are undergoing the affiliation process, which is reportedly taking longer than originally expected.

The process to affiliate states’ healthcare services to IMSS-Bienestar is taking place as most public institutions grapple with the lack of specialists. “The dream that we are going to turn into reality is that by next year [there will be] quality healthcare for all the people in Mexico. That is the purpose. It is taking a little bit of work to get the doctors, not so much the general practitioners but specialists,” said López Obrador.

While Mexico has numerous medical specialists, the country lacks manpower in some key fields. “Mexico has specialists in areas where demand is decreasing and lacks specialists for diseases growing in prevalence,” said Héctor Valle, Executive President, Funsalud. Another significant problem is the lack of security in some of the rural zones in the country.

“Doctors in Mexico prefer to stay in Mexico City over moving to a narco-dominated state or town. We need to keep in mind that just like any other professional, doctors are looking for personal and professional development and opportunities in cities align better with those desires,” said Valle.

Mexico’s public healthcare system has been criticized for lacking a clear framework of operations caused in part by the elimination of Seguro Popular and the creation of INSABI and IMSS-Bienestar. Authorities recently created a new Decentralized Public Organization (OPD) that aims to administrate public healthcare resources, but there is little information clarifying its responsibilities, as reported by MBN