Despite many rumors to the contrary, Mexico’s Seguro Popular health care program will continue in its present form, at least for the time being.
The new federal administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is keen to implement a more efficient form of universal health care in Mexico – similar to models in Canada or the United Kingdom – but is not setting a time limit for carrying this out.
Meanwhile, the Seguro Popular, the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS) and Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE) will continue to operate and be financed as in the past, says Ivonne Cisneros Luján, the country’s new national health commissioner. Meanwhile, she says the government will develop a “totally new” national health care framework to be presented to legislators at a future date.
The Seguro Popular was created in 2003 to extend health care coverage to Mexican citizens (and qualifying foreign residents) not covered by the IMSS, either through their work or individual contributions. The program was eagerly embraced by the public and by 2012, 51 million people were enrolled in the program.
Cisneros admitted, however, that the major problem with the Seguro Popular is that it is essentially nothing more than a government sponsored health insurance plan. What Mexico really requires, she says, is a single system to provide equal coverage to everyone.
Cisneros said that unlike the Seguro Popular, the new health care model will allow patients to receive free treatment for any condition and eventuality – without restrictions. The Seguro Popular claims to cover “85 percent” of all conditions, including many serious and costly treatments, which are often paid for from a separate fund, the Fondo de Protección contra Gastos Catastróficos. Among treatments that are not covered are skin cancer, certain eye operations, organ transplants and leukemia in adults, for example.
The new model will also streamline the financing of public health care in Mexico, Cisneros says.
Financing the Seguro Popular has been a constant headache since its inception – six percent of its budget is consumed on administrative costs – and shortages of medicines are frequently reported in some states. Fortunately, the short-term financing of Seguro Popular is guaranteed, with a budget of 71 billion pesos ($US3.8 billion) authorized for 2019.
Jalisco Health Secretary Fernando Petersen Aranguren attended a recent meeting with his federal counterparts in Mexico City after which he confirmed this state will be receiving a Seguro Popular subsidy of around three billion pesos ($US162 million) this year.