[A health system's neoliberal reform: evidence from the Mexican case]

Cad Saude Publica. 2017 Jul 27;33Suppl 2(Suppl 2):e00087416. doi: 10.15090/0102-311X00087416.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

This study addressed the shaping of Mexico's health system in recent years, with an analysis of the social determination conditioning the system's current formulation, the consequences for the population's living and working conditions, and the technical and legal reform measures that shaped the system's transformation. The article then analyzes the survival of social security institutions and the introduction of an individual insurance model and its current implications and consequences. From the perspective of the right to health, the article compares the measures, resources, and interventions in both health care models and highlights the relevance of the social security system for Popular Insurance. The article concludes that the measures implemented to reform the Mexican health system have failed to achieve the intended results; on the contrary, they have led to a reduction in interventions, rising costs, and a decrease in the installed capacity and professional personnel for the system's operation, thus falling far short of solving the problem, rather aggravating the inequities without solving the system's structural contradictions. Health systems face new challenges, inevitably requiring that the analyses be situated in a broader framework rather than merely focusing on the functional, administrative, and financial operation of the systems in the respective countries.

MeSH terms

  • Health Care Reform*
  • Health Policy*
  • Human Rights
  • Humans
  • Mexico
  • Social Security