(Expansion) – According to the Constitution, every person has the right to health protection. However, access to services to enforce this right is far from being a reality for millions of people who today live in remote areas, face long waiting times or go to health centers that do not have the treatments they require to be cured
Last week, the one in which he analyzed the capacities of the public sector to guarantee access to services for the population without social security. The results of this comprehensive and evidence-based analysis come as no surprise, but they give official status to the call by many organizations to point out neglected challenges that put the lives and health of millions of people at risk.
The report acknowledges that, despite the most recent reforms to the General Health Law, 15.6 million Mexicans lost access to health institutions in 2020. In addition, in that same year, 3.9% of households spent nearly a third part of their disposable income for health expenses, a figure 1.8 percentage points higher than in 2018.
It would be easy to blame the pandemic for these poor health outcomes. However, Coneval highlights institutional failures that have also had an influence. Among them, he mentions the design of programs that generate uncertainty regarding access to certain services, lack of coordination in the operation of the health system and lack of transparency in the allocation of resources.
In particular, I was struck by the fact that the report mentions the uncertainty generated by the coordination between the Institute of Health for Well-being (INSABI) and the states. Various types of agreements were signed, ranging from transferring all health services (first, second and third level of care), as in San Luis Potosí and Oaxaca, to not joining the system as Aguascalientes or Nuevo León did. So keeping track of resources and doing accountability exercises is quite a challenge.
This situation could be complicated by the creation of the new one that will replace INSABI in the provision of services for people without social security, which was born without a specific budget item, at least for 2023. How will it work? How much budget will you really receive? Will it be enough for the challenge you have in your hands?
It must be recognized that universal access to health services proposed by this Administration is something necessary and urgent to close inequality gaps. However, this objective will only be met with efficient coordination among actors, a sufficient budget, and clear transparency and accountability mechanisms. While that is happening, the lives of millions of Mexican men and women are being put at stake.
Editor’s note: Fátima Masse is Director of the IMCO’s Inclusive Society. Follow her on Twitter as . The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.
