Access to Healthcare

Approximately 96% of the state’s population has access to public health programs and facilities through the IMSS, ISSSTE, and other government health networks.  Workers and the private sector are covered by the IMSS, while federal government employees are covered by the ISSSTE.  State government employees are covered by state-sponsored ISSSTE programs, and the uninsured are covered through the SSE.

However, the public health sector in Mexico is in severe financial crisis, principally the IMSS and ISSSTE.  As their constituents are the majority of the population, the situation is having a direct impact on the quality and quantity of services offered.   Here, it is interesting to note that the quality of medical service and overall use does vary from state to state across Mexico. According to Mexico’s Secretary of Health, Baja California Sur had the lowest number of consultations per facility in Mexico and was, as such, considered among the least productive in the country. [1]

Beyond these shortcomings, a third of the state’s rural population is located at least thirty minutes from a location offering health service (compared to 15% of the urban population), and as mentioned above, 3.8% of the rural population do not have access to any medical attention.  However, the government has the intent of providing sufficient health services through the implementation of popular insurance coverage, which is currently in a pilot phase, offering preventative, medical, and hospital attention to 4,700 families that meet an annual quota of US$320.  However, additional assistance is still needed to improve healthcare accessibility for this segment of the population.