IMSS-Bienestar / BIRMEX’s Medicine Supply

IMSS-Bienestar. IMSS Director Zoé Robledo announced that, this year, IMSS-Bienestar will go from operating in 18 entities to 24. “In December 2023, the program will operate in 24 entities with 692 hospitals, 13,886 first level care units and will provide services to 53.2 million Mexicans who do not have social security."

The Mexican health system is experiencing a deep transformation. The integration of health services through IMSS-Bienestar aims at offering care to those who are not affiliated to other public institutions, such as ISSSTE or ISSFAM. The IMSS-Bienestar program also seeks to benefit Mexican science by boosting the development of research programs. The federal government expects all entities to operate within the IMSS-Bienestar program by 2040. So far, 22 states have joined the program, benefiting 253 hospitals, 21 specialty medical units and more than 4,000 health centers.

Universal Health. López Obrador assured that before his government ends, Mexico will have one of the best health systems in the world. "It is a challenge, serving 60 million Mexicans without social insurance, but we are going to achieve it."

Previously, President López Obrador assured that by mid-2023, Mexico will have one of the best public health systems in the world. However, analysts point out it is impossible to achieve this idyllic health system in the remaining two years of López Obrador’s administration. Carolina Gómez, public health specialist, underscored that far from increasing the health budget, the money allocated to this sector has been trimmed since 2018. "The president is wrong to brag about a health system equivalent to those in Europe. We cannot even count on basic vaccines," she lamented.

BIRMEX’s Medicine Supply. The president highlighted that Biológicos y Reactivos de México (BIRMEX) has guaranteed a medicine supply rate of 96% in Mexico. “Administrative processes have been streamlined and we have brought down corruption. We are going forward."

In 2021, Mexico and UNOPS signed an agreement to provide technical assistance for the acquisition of medication to promote better management practices and gain access to a larger pharmaceutical market.