23/07/2026
Mexico has moved toward a national healthcare system intended to provide public medical services regardless of a person’s employment status or private insurance.
The effort has developed across several administrations. Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador replaced the Seguro Popular system and expanded the idea of healthcare as a constitutional right. President Claudia Sheinbaum has continued that direction through IMSS-Bienestar and plans for a more unified Universal Health Service.
A presidential decree established the framework for greater coordination among Mexico’s public health institutions, with full integration planned in stages.
The goal is for a person to receive care based on medical need rather than the specific government program connected to their job.
Mexico’s system has historically been divided among institutions serving formal workers, government employees, armed forces, people without social security, and private patients. That fragmentation can make access and medical records difficult to manage.
The new model aims to connect services, strengthen public hospitals and clinics, improve medicine distribution, and create more consistent coverage across the country.
Building a truly universal system will require staff, funding, infrastructure, and long-term coordination. But the principle is clear.
Losing a job should not mean losing the ability to see a doctor.
Healthcare is being treated not as an employment benefit for a few, but as a public right for every citizen.
