The Journey to a Unified & Universal Health Care System Starts in June Mexico News Daily
go to original May 19, 2016

Americans living in Mexico praise 'Seguro Popular' universal health care (KENS5/Richard Grabman)

The road to a unified and universal health care system in Mexico is just beginning its first phase, an exchange of services among the hospitals of the different health institutions, a change that is expected to offer improved medical care for the end user.

Beginning next month, any beneficiary will be able to receive medical attention at any Social Security Institute (IMSS), State Workers’ Social Security Institute (ISSSTE) or federal or state health secretariat hospital, regardless of the institution to which the patient is affiliated.

This first stage towards a planned universal health system will consist in the exchange of 700 medical services, those which have been identified as the most needed among the general population, said the head of the National Commission for Social Protection through Health (CNPSS).

Under the new scheme, said Dr. Gabriel O’Shea Cuevas, patients with particular medical needs not available in the state or federal health secretariats will have the opportunity to be transferred to other IMSS or ISSSTE hospitals, and vice versa.

O’Shea believes that the first stage will give medical institutions the opportunity to learn a great deal, mainly in the referral and counter-referral of patients, but also in billing.

The new exchange system is all about reducing costs, he continued, as expensive equipment is often underutilized in some hospitals. Sometimes patients are sent to another city or state when a facility in the same city, but that of another institution, has the necessary equipment.

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