Column : Healthy Mexicans, ill Indians

UHC in Mexico is synonymous with social protection of health. In the words of an accompanying Lancet editorial, “health insurance is no longer seen as an employment benefit but as a right of citizenship”. The report describes the three stages of UHC: (1) universal enrolment, with benefits extending from a publicly organised insurance; (2) regular access to a comprehensive package of services with financial protection for all; and (3) universal effective coverage guarantees for specialised high-cost services to prevent financial shocks.

A Fund for Community Health Services covers health promotion, immunisation campaigns, primary prevention, early detection, epidemiological surveillance and risk protection. Personal clinical services which are not highly specialised are funded through Seguro Popular, which draws on pre-paid contributions (according to the capacity to pay) and public funding from general taxation (which pays for most services). There is a special fund for children and new-borns (Medical Insurance For A New Generation) and a Fund For Protection Against Catastrophic Health Expenditures (FPCHE) which provides

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