Health

In a little more than a decade since the introduction of the Popular Health Insurance Scheme, Mexico has made vast strides in extending coverage and is now closer than ever to attaining universal coverage. Nonetheless, rapidly changing demographics have boosted demand for medical services and put significant pressure on the sector, which is now faced with the task of increasing capacity to effectively meet health care needs, while expanding access in rural and remote areas where infrastructure is lagging. But even though health expenditure has increased in the past few years, at 6.3% of GDP it remains below the OECD’s average of 9%. The past few years have also seen a marked expansion of the private sector, along with significant growth in sub-sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and medical tourism. A sector reform already announced for 2014 is expected to increase integration and reduce the fragmentation that has beset the sector.