MEXICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: POLITICS OF AN IMMINENT GROWTH

uan Carlos Navarro Mercado The Washington Center Issues Essay

Sep. 26th, 2012

MEXICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: POLITICS OF AN IMMINENT GROWTH.

What do we need to know about the Mexican Healthcare System? Mexico, like Chile, China and USA is in the process to obtain whats is called “Universal Healthcare Coverage” pretending to bring healthcare services to each and every mexican citizen in the country. In order to achieve this objective, in 2003 a “Healthcare Reform” was sent and subsequently approved in order to begin this social project.

In Mexico, healthcare services are mostly provided by the Federal Government through several institutions.Workers and every citizen who perceive a salary must be legally registered and covered by an institute called IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) or the ISSTE (Instituto del Seguro Social para los Trabajadores del Estado). This two institutes were and are, only for those society sectors, ignoring the uninsured and unemployed citizens in the country. So we’ll be wondering ¿What about the other sector of the population?

Last, but not least, the “Healthcare Department” (Secretaria de Salud), is one of the most important government institute, because of their responsibilities with the program “Seguro Popular” . This is the action plan by the Federal Government and the mentioned department in order to satisfy the Healthcare Reform ́s priority, by creating and implementing a whole healthcare system focused first in low-income sectors by bringing hospitals, clinics, medicines as well as prevention programs all around the country and a covering package of 18 expensive interventions, including treatment for children with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other types of cancer.

With an estimated annual healthcare budget of $430Billion pesos(An equivalent of $3,350,423,088 DLLS). In 2012, Mexico increased his economic capacity in a 267% in comparison with the previous year, making this an historical event showing a real interest by the government, this is mainly done by injecting capital in healthcare programs.This guides us to another question ¿How this healthcare institutions determine when and how must they spend this money?

Of course there is an endless list of where this money can be spent; infrastructure, salaries, preventive health programs, etc. But, in this occasion we’ll be focused in one particular concept called “Medical Equipment”. And, ¿How do we choose the best equipment? Well, this is chosen determining the quality in general, Guaranties, brands, technology and other factors that must be considered in the acquisitions criteria according to the biomedical Engineers team at the interior of the acquisitions committee involved in every project.

And at this point, is where the committee and the institution realizes that there are so many brands and technologies in the market that offer the best quality and the best equipment.

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