Inequality in the Mexican Health Care Organization - Essay Example

? Inequality in the Mexican health care organization and how it can be addressed Grade (11th, Nov. Inequality in the Mexican health care organization and how it can be addressed Introduction Mexico is one of the few countries that has made major strides towards providing accessible healthcare services for all citizens, through a system of both private and public healthcare arrangement that has seen 50% of the countries population being covered by the public healthcare system, while the rest of the 50% is financing the healthcare services from their own pockets (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). However, while Mexico has been able to at least provide a way of ensuring that regardless of the costs, its population can at least access some healthcare services, the major challenge associated with the Mexican healthcare system is the conspicuous inequality, that has seen some of the Mexican population reap higher benefits of the county’s healthcare system, while many others are not favored. The inequality in the Mexican healthcare is being felt in two folds. The first aspect of the inequality is the urban-to-rural inequality, where the population in the urban areas of the country has a better healthcare access, compared to those living in the rural areas (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). The other aspect of the inequality in the Mexican healthcare system occurs in the form of the rich-to-poor healthcare access inequality, where the rich are better placed to access both high quality and also affordable healthcare services, compared to the poor, whose access to healthcare is hindered by both cost and distance to healthcare service facilities (Ruelas, 2002). Therefore, in addressing the inequality in the Mexican healthcare, both aspects of the rural-urban coverage as well as the rich-poor healthcare disparity are the core issues that must be resolved. Problem statement Healthcare services provision has greatly advanced over the decades in Mexico. Consequently, statistics have shown that the mortality rate has declined, while the birth rate and the life expectancy rates have greatly improved, from a mere life expectancy of 42 years in 1940, to the current 73 years by 2012 (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). While this is a notable achievement of the healthcare system in Mexico, further statistics have emerged to the effect that, 52% of the Mexican population finances their healthcare services out of their pocket (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). This notwithstanding, even the very poor population, especially in the rural areas and the informal settlements around the city prefers to go for the private healthcare provider services, not because the quality of the healthcare is poor, but because the accessibility of such healthcare facilities, especially regarding their locations have left the poor without a choice, but to go for the private services (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). This scenario is in sharp contrast with the situation in the urban areas, which are populated by the middle-and the high-class population, where the access to public healthcare services is easily accessible, owing to strategic locations of such facilities within the urban rich regions. Therefore, while the government is striving towards ensuring that the whole of its population is either covered by the public or the private healthcare practice, it has not been able to address the issues of urban-rural, and the rich-poor health inequalities (Ruelas, 2002). Purpose statement Effective assessment of the success of the healthcare system should be based on both the quality of the healthcare services provided, as well as on the burden of paying for such services that is borne by the patients (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). The healthcare system in Mexico is especially problematic in some of the employment sectors, where some employees are covered by a duo-system of both private and public healthcare services, while the other category is uncovered. Further, the distribution of the public healthcare facilities is uneven throughout the country, with the urban regions being favored over the rural regions (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). Therefore, this analysis seeks to develop a model that can be applied to address the problem of healthcare inequality in Mexico. Proposed model of addressing inequality in the Mexican healthcare system Balanced Financing and Balanced Location Model, is the proposed model through which the inequality in the Mexican healthcare system can be addressed. Underfunding of the Mexican healthcare is the major cause of the inequality experienced, considering that Mexico utilizes only 5.6% of the GDP to fund the healthcare provision services under the public sector healthcare category, which is lower, compared to the spending by the rest of the developed countries (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). Additionally, the burden borne by the patients in form of the out-of-pocket funding of the healthcare services is way much higher, compared to the burden borne by the patients in other developed countries such as the USA and the UK, who’s out-of-pocket funding for the healthcare services stands at 16.6% and 3.1% respectively (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). Considering that lack of adequate funding by the government highly contributes to the inequality in the healthcare system of Mexico, both in the rich-poor and the urban-rural healthcare inequality fronts, it is essential that the healthcare leaders in the Mexican healthcare organization works with the USA healthcare leaders, to be able to learn the fundamentals of increasing the funding of the healthcare services, from a merely private insurance of approximately 2 million people in Mexico, to a reasonable private insurance coverage of the population, as happens in the USA health system, where a private healthcare sector plays a more important role in healthcare provision, than in Mexico (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). The Mexican healthcare system is highly fragmented, comprising of a three-tier system, with the social security institutions covering the bulk of the population, under the formal employment category, followed by the ministry of health that provides healthcare services through funding the public healthcare facilities, and finally he private sector, which entirely depends on the out-of-pocket funding from the Mexican population (Ruelas, 2002). However, while the social security and the ministry of health covers over 98 million people, which is almost 95% of the Mexican population, the funding is inefficient, since it is tied to the economic growth, which barely registers any great improvement every single year. Additionally, the social security system is tied to the formal sector of employment, with the social security institutions and the ministry of health categorically catering for the health needs of the employees in the formal sector, while ignoring those in the informal sector, who are then left to deep in their pocket to access healthcare (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). However, through a Balanced Financing and Balanced Location Model of the healthcare system, which seeks to cover both the formal and the informal sector, the Mexican healthcare will be able to cater for the health needs of much of its population more effectively. Balanced location of the healthcare subsidiaries forms the other aspect of the Balanced Financing and Balanced Location Model of eliminating inequality in the healthcare system in Mexico, where the healthcare organization should balance the placement of its subsidiaries in the country, to ensure that it caters for both the poor and the rich, as well as for the urban and the rural communities alike. Healthcare system in Mexico suffers from inequality, through favoring the urban over the rural regions, as well as favoring the regions of affluence over those of poverty (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). Therefore, through locating the subsidiaries of the healthcare organization both in the urban and the rural areas, while also balancing the locations to cover both the poor and the rich population, the organization will have worked towards eliminating the inequality within the Mexican healthcare system (Barraza-Llorens, Panopoulou & Diaz, 2013). Further, working with leaders in the USA will be essential, since it will enhance the chances of creating a replica of the USA private system of healthcare, which is extensive, and majorly based on quality provision of healthcare services. Additionally, working with the USA leaders regarding the balanced location of the subsidiary of the healthcare facilities will ensure that the needs of the USA-Mexican border population are catered for, since such a population has a hybrid characteristic that requires unique health services, which combines both the Mexican and the USA systems (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). Potential challenges The potential challenge of the Balanced Financing and Balanced Location Model of healthcare provision is that; locating healthcare facilities in both the urban and the rural regions, as well as in the affluent and the poor regions alike, will pose different financial and infrastructural requirements (Barraza-Llorens et al., 2002). This is because, some rural regions do not have adequate infrastructure to cater for the needs of a healthcare organization, especially in terms of structures and technology. This would mean that more resources would be consumed in establishing facilities in the rural areas than would be required for the urban establishments. This will in turn create a preference for the urban areas owing to the low costs of establishment, eventually advancing the rural-urban healthcare inequality (Ruelas, 2002). Feasibility Nevertheless, the Balanced Financing and Balanced Location Model is feasible, considering that it will attract some incentives from both the government and the Non-Governmental organizations, whose interest is to end the inequality currently experienced in the Mexican healthcare system. The incentives would be in terms of the provision of the necessary infrastructure that is needed to support the establishment of healthcare facilities in the rural areas (Garman, Johnson & Royer, 2011). Therefore, this model is feasible, since it seeks to end the inequality in the Mexican healthcare system, through eliciting an all-stakeholder partnership, where the private health organization will partner with the government and NGOs to establish a system of healthcare delivery both in the rural areas, and in the urban poor regions such as the informal settlements in some major cities. This will effectively end the inequality currently prevailing in the Mexican healthcare system. References Barraza-Llorens, M. et al. (2002). Addressing Inequity In Health And Health Care In Mexico. Health Affairs 21 (3), 47-56. Barraza-Llorens, M., Panopoulou, G. & Diaz, BY. (2013). Income-related inequalities and inequities in health and health care utilization in Mexico, 2000–2006. Rev Panam Salud Publica 33(2):122–30. Garman, A. N., Johnson, T. J., & Royer, T. C. (2011). The future of healthcare: Global trends worth watching. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. Johnson, J. A., & Stoskopf, C. H. (2010). Comparative health systems: Global perspective. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Ruelas, Z. (2002). Health care quality improvement in Mexico: challenges, opportunities, and progress. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings 15(3), 319–322. Read More