The Week in Health: A Rough Start for INSABI

With just a couple days in operation, the National Healthcare Institute for Welfare (INSABI) is already causing controversy due to the imposition of payment fees on some of its services. Moreover, not all former workers from the now extinct Seguro Popular are being hired by INSABI. To top the cake, governors from sates like Aguascalientes say they did not agree to implement INSABI and that they will continue working with Seguro Popular as usual. Not the happiest start of the year but we still have many months to come.

NATIONAL

Patients have reported charges for some of INSABI’s services and medicines that they used to get for free from Seguro Popular just a couple weeks ago.

Complaints on medicine shortages, especially for Cancer treatments, increase every week. Puebla is among the most affected.

Aguascalientes’ governor says he never agreed to welcome INSABI to the state. Therefore, Aguascalientes will continue treating patients with Seguro Popular services.

Around 300 former Seguro Popular employees were not employed by INSABI. This means more money for future investment but also more unemployment since these are just the numbers of Hidalgo.

Meanwhile, infectious diseases like Dengue take more lives in the poorest parts on the country. The situation complicates as mosquitos seem to be resistant to the current methods of defense.

Overweight and obesity are an epidemic that costs not only lives and wellbeing but also a lot of money. According to the OECD, Mexico loses 5.3 percent of its GDP on treating these two diseases.

INTERNATIONAL

Good news! The US reports a decrease in deaths related to cancer.