Health care in Mexico

Overview
In the early 1990s, Mexico showed clear signs of having entered a transitional stage in the health of its population. When compared with 1940 or even 1970, Mexico in the 1990s exhibited mortality patterns that more closely approximated those found in developed societies.

Generally, the health care in Mexico is excellent, and in most places, positively exceptional. Most of the health care practitioners in Mexico (doctors, dentists etc.) are trained in western countries like the United States. Consequently, there are also some American doctors that have their trainings in Mexico; most particularly in Guadalajara.

Mid-sized and large cities in Mexico have one first-rate hospital at least. What is good about health care in Mexico is that the costs are generally lower than one might expect to pay in the US. The same thing also applies for those prescription drugs. Those prescription drugs that are manufactured in Mexico are about fifty percent less on the average, compared with similar drugs manufactured in the United States.

History
During the conquest, new illnesses were introduced to the Indians, creating epidemics throughout the populations. Epidemics proceeded, such as smallpox, cholera, typhus, and measles, for centuries. Recent health epidemics have been influenced by urbanization and transportation modernities. The division of upper class and lower class has become evident in the health of Mexican populations when observing health risks on opposite sides of the spectrum, such as obesity and on the other side malnutrition and starvation, caused by the lagging economy and financial crisis.

Health Concerns
Compared to other countries, some health risks are more prominent in Mexico because of its culture and lifestyle. Mexico has shown increasing health problems with pesticide use. It has become an area of major concern for states like Chiapas where 58% of the population is involved in agricultural work and pesticide use. Although the people are aware of the safety precautions that should be taken into consideration, public concern lacks for the serious health problems that can progress. Many agricultural workers in Chiapas believe that only the weak will be affected by pesticide exposure. Cultural beliefs are significant when analyzing health concerns and the way that a population interprets them. Another significant health concern that has been on the rise in recent years is the AIDS epidemic (SIDA). What once was ranked 11th in causing most deaths in Mexico in 1988 has risen to the 3rd leading cause of death not even ten years later in 1996. 12% of all mortalities in Mexico are caused by the AIDS epidemic.

Health Care
Advances in medicine and increasing health knowledge have increased the life expectancy by 25 years in the second half of the century. While the health of Mexicans has increased in the last four generations, there are millions of citizens who still do not have regular access to health care services. The structure of the health care system is comprised of three components: the social security institute, governmental services for the uninsured, and the private sector that is financed almost completely from out of pocket money. Governmental services include all services that are free in rural areas by the Secretariat of Health and family planning, vaccinations, oral rehydration, and emergency services that are free to all parts of the country. The number of public hospitals in Mexico has increased 41% in ten years from 1985 to 1995. Besides public hospitals, private hospitals exist but require pay and are difficult to provide adequate health care. The majority of private hospitals are small with 83% of the clinics having less than 14 beds and half of those having less than 5 beds.

Despite the increasing number of public hospitals and other alternative health services, 11% of the population of Mexico in one way or another has no access to health care services. Financial reasons limit a person from healthcare because the expenses of medication and treatments can be very high and also many people are not able to take off work. Not being able to work for a month, week, or even a day causes a family to lose money that may be vital to a household’s survival. Other barriers are geographical, especially for rural areas that may be far from a city and lack the transportation for going there. Another major barrier that exists is organizational where there is a lack of trust or service quality that may prevent someone from accessing health care. These barriers can be costly and lead to unmet medical needs. Because of the previous barriers, the greatest deficiencies have been in prenatal services, childbirth, acute diseases, and injuries.

Half of Mexican citizens are uninsured and even more pay health costs out of their own pockets. For some families, more than a third of their income goes towards paying for medical needs. The need for a structure that accommodates a divided population would allow for greater access to health care services. Because of the separation between upper and lower class, health inequities also exist when compared to national rates, especially for indigenous communities. For example, 40% of indigenous women have been found to be anemic compared to the national average of 26%. Studies also show that in low income areas, less than 10% of pregnant women deliver their babies in a hospital. A health care system needs to be structured in a way to minimize the division of upper and lower class in order to provide access to health care for a much larger lower class population.