In Mexico, the prices of medical consultations registered an unprecedented increase in more than two decades, as a result of the growing pressure on the public Health system, which has been unable to respond to the high demand for care.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in April the costs of the consultations increased 6.1%, the largest rise since January 2004. This increase includes general medical services, specialized, consultations during pregnancy, weight control, and care with healers, bones or chiropractic.
Inegi’s analysis, which covered 55 cities in the country, reveals that since July last year, medical consultations have registered increased increases than general inflation, which in April was 3.9%. In particular, prenatal consultations reported an increase of 6.7%.
Specialists warn that the increase in medical services is related to the deterioration of the public health system in the last six years. Luis Fernando Hernández Lezama, president of the Technical Committee of “I am a patient”, points out that this weakening responds to multiple factors, such as the disappearance of the Popular Insurance, the reforms to combat corruption in consolidated purchases, the shortage of medicines and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All this has substantially modified the way in which more people come to the doctor. The Ministry of Health itself indicates that in recent years there is a significant increase 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 Diario de México.
The specialist, who was deputy technical secretary of the Health Cabinet between 1984 and 1989, stressed that price increase responds to a market logic. “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.
During the pandemic, the production of medicines other than COVID-19 was reduced, which affected the offer and raised prices. The same goes for the medical equipment required by private offices, whose costs are transferred to patients.
-“Doctors acquire the equipment to work, but the costs of the consultations rise because in the end the cost of investment to customers is transferred, and that is that private hospitals have increased their technology and want to recover their investments,” said the leader of I am a patient.
The increase in costs has given rise to the growth of medical tourism in the country, a phenomenon that could be intensified if public services are not strengthened. Hernández Lezama criticized the lack of social pressure and political will to address this crisis, since many people allocate social programs for immediate health and food expenses.
“The resources of social programs are being allocated to immediate expenses, which have to do normally with health and food. This makes people’s response not blunt to prevent the public sector from decaying and that the profitability of private ones grows from 200% to 300%,” said Hernández Lezama.
The challenges are aggravated when patients need specialized care, such as surgeries, tomographies or treatments for chronic-degenerative diseases, since public hospitals face shortage of medicines, personnel and equipment.
INEGI figures indicate that general hospitalization services increased 6%in April, and those related to childbirth and the puerperium rose 6.2%, the greatest increase since December 2023. Among the medications with the highest increases, those used to treat diabetes (7.5%), anti -inflammatories (7.2%) and contraceptives or hormonal (6.7%).
The “Global Medical Trends 2024” survey of the WTW consultant, revealed that Mexico presented a 13.3% medical inflation in 2023. “Public health systems have been overwhelmed by the great demand and the limited resources that are available, which forces to depend on private medical suppliers,” says the document.
According to the same source, medical inflation is expected to reach 14.9% in 2025, driven by the increase in the cost of medicines and new technologies.
