Los Medical offices Private fired the price of their services due to the inability of the public system to meet the growing demand, specialists told El Universal.
when monitoring the 55 main cities in the country, the national Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) He found that the price of medical consultations increased 6.1% during April. This is the greatest rise in more than 21 years, specifically since January 2004, when 6.1%also increased.
These services incorporate consultations with the general practitioner, specialist, for weight control, during pregnancy and through the healer, bone and chiropractic, details the institute headed by Graciela Márquez.
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Since July of last year, medical consultations rise faster than general inflation, whose rate was 3.9% last month.
The medical consultation stands out during pregnancy, when 6.7%rise, indicate the Inegi records.
There are several factors that promote the prices of consultations above the inflation And the main one has to do with the weakening of public system Throughout the last six years, said Luis Fernando Hernández Lezama, president of the Technical Committee of Soy Patient, Civil Association that promotes awareness about the importance of strengthening the health sector.
Private services 6.1% were expensive for the abandonment of the public sector, they indicate experts; Diabetes and anti -inflammatory drug
From his point of view, the public system weakened by the disappearance of the Popular insurancethe adjustments that the government has tried to carry out to avoid corruption in consolidated purchases, the shortage of medicines and the pandemic of COVID-19which increased the demand for services.
“All this has substantially modified the way in which more people come to doctor. Own Ministry of Health It indicates that in recent years there is an important rise of people attending pharmacy offices and there is also an increase in offices linked to homes of people who put their small offices at home. An Inegi survey points out that up to 64% of people prefer to go with private doctors, ”he explained in an interview with the Great Diario de México.
Luis Fernando Hernández Lezama, who was also deputy technical secretary of the Health Cabinet in the Presidency of the Republic between 1984 and 1989, indicated that the sector responds to the laws of supply and demand.
“It is something worrying that health becomes a business. That is why we see that while there is greater demand for services, more prices increase. Thus, under the logic of the business and carelessness of the public sector, we see that prices respond more and more to international prices of medicines and medical equipment,” he said.
He explained that in the pandemic the producers stopped producing other medications, as they concentrated on the COVID-19, and when the offer lowered, prices increased according to the Demand for medicines It rose, and this is the same case as the equipment acquired by private doctors for their specialized consultations.
-Commissioner Blanca Lilia Ibarra said that making effective the right to health is a priority. Photo: Pixabay
“Doctors acquire the team to work, but the costs of the consultations go up because in the end the cost of investment is transferred to customers, and that is that private hospitals have increased their technology and want to quickly recover their investments,” said the leader of I am a patient
In his opinion, the market has been distorted to such a degree that the concept of Medical Tourism It has grown and will continue to rise if the situation does not change.
The population is not pressure, nor is there enough policy for the government to improve the healthcare systemsince, with the dispersion of public resources, people attended in private offices, the expert considered.
“The resources of the Social programs They are allocated to immediate expenses, which have to do normally with health and food. This makes people’s response not overwhelming to prevent the public sector from decaying and that the profitability of privately grows from 200% to 300%, ”said Hernández Lezama.
Warned that the problem comes when people must face surgery, a major interventiona tomography or treatment for chronic-degenerative disease, as public hospitals They lack medications, Personal and operating rooms equipped sufficient, and private services are very expensive.
Inegi records show that General hospitalization services 6% were more expensive in April, while admission to receive attention during labor, childbirth and puerperium increased 6.2%, the highest rise since December 2023.
Among the medications that most increased at price are those destined to Diabetes treatmentat 7.5% more than a year ago; followed by the anti -inflammatorieswith an increase of 7.2%, and contraceptives and hormonal, 6.7%.
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The results of the Global Medical Trends survey 2024 ″, prepared by WTW, revealed that Mexico had a 13.3% medical inflation during the past year.
“The systems of public health They have been overwhelmed by the great demand and the limited resources that are available, which forces to depend on private medical suppliers, ”says the consultant’s document.
Medical inflation will be 14.9% for 2025 due to price increase due to New technologies and the increase in medications, according to WTW’s survey.
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