Objective: The process of regularization of workers paid by the Social Protection Health System of Mexico is described and analyzed.
Materials and methods: Primary and secondary data collected by the external evaluation of the Mexican System for Social Protection in Health in 2009 were used.
Results: The regularization clearly improved the labor conditions of workers contracted by the system but a broader systemic implication of regularization does not seem to be necessarily positive.
Conclusion: It is important to consider the need to guarantee that this type of changes in the contractual conditions of workers benefit all actors, particularly the insured population.