Protección financiera en salud: México, 1992 a 2004

Objetivo. Documentar las tendencias en la protección financiera del sistema de salud en México en el periodo de 1992 a 2004, aplicando una serie de indicadores que miden el gasto en salud catastrófico y empobrecedor y el Indice de Justicia en la Protección Financiera. Material y métodos. El estudio hace uso de la serie de tiempo bianual de la Encuesta de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares (ENIGH) en el periodo 1992 a 2004. La metodología aplicada busca medir el nivel y la distribución de la carga del financiamiento a la salud de los hogares, y la protección financiera que les ofrece el sistema de salud. Para ello, se presentan cuatro indicadores: 1) el índice de justicia en la contribución financiera; 2) la proporción de hogares con gastos catastróficos; 3) la proporción de hogares con gastos en salud empobrecedores; y 4) la suma entre el porcentaje de hogares con gastos catastróficos y empobrecedores, lo cual se denomina gastos excesivos. El análisis presentado en este documento es descriptivo, dejando para estudios posteriores el análisis de los aspectos causales a una mayor profundidad. Resultados. Se estima que el número de familias con gastos en salud empobrecedores aumentó desde 5.2% en 1992 hasta alcanzar su nivel más alto de 9.9% en 1996 y posteriormente declinar en forma gradual y llegar a 1.8% en 2004. En cuanto al porcentaje de hogares con gastos catastróficos, inició en 1992 en 2.8% y aumentó a 4.2% en 1998, para posteriormente presentar una mejoría continua y llegar en 2004 a un nivel de 2.6%. La mejoría desde 2000 se concentra entre la población no asegurada, las familias afiliadas al Seguro Popular y los hogares de los dos quintiles más pobres. Conclusiones: Los gastos excesivos han tenido un comportamiento que refleja un empeoramiento en el periodo de crisis económica, una mejora postcrisis y una mejoría sostenida a partir del 2000. Las cifras sugieren que una parte de la reducción en el número de hogares con gastos excesivos se debe a la ampliación de la protección financiera de las familias mexicanas que ha traído consigo el Seguro Popular de Salud, mientras otra parte se asocia a reducciones en la pobreza. También son indicativos de una importante relación entre el comportamiento de la economía en general y los gastos catastróficos y empobrecedores en salud, lo cual sugiere el importante rol del aseguramiento en salud para blindar a las familias. La protección financiera ayuda a garantizar que cuando los tiempos de crisis económica ¿del país o de una familia¿ coinciden con eventos de enfermedad, el gasto en la atención a la salud no se vuelve causa de un periodo largo o permanente de empobrecimiento para los hogares

La competitividad, la salud y el sector salud: una nueva vertiente del paradigma de economía y salud

SUMMARY Health and the health sector have a direct impact on economic growth and competitiveness. Moreover, the health sector is experiencing increasingly strong links with the economy, which reinforces the key role that health plays in the development of individuals and economies. On the one hand, in addition to its intrinsic value health constitutes an important economic good because it contributes to increasing the capacity of individuals and nations to achieve greater levels of human, economic and social development. In addition, there is a direct relationship between health as a productive sector and the economy that will become more important as world health expenditure increases and because of recent advances in the productivity of the medical sector and the technology used in providing health services. For these reasons, a better understanding of the complex relationship between health, the health sector and economic development will help to increase competitiveness and attain higher levels of growth by enabling a more efficient health system that is in turn based on a solid, fair, equitable and sufficient financial base

Financial protection in health: Mexico, 1992 to 2004

To document trends in financial protection in the health care system in Mexico between 1992 and 2004, applying a series of indicators that measure catastrophic and impoverishing health spending and the Index of Fairness in Financial Contributions. MATERIALS Y METHODS: This study uses the biannual time series of the Survey of Household Income and Expenditures (ENIGH) spanning the period 1992 to 2004. The methodologies seek to measure the level and distribution of the burden of health care finance on households, and the financial protection offered to them by the health care system. Four indicators are presented: 1) the Index of Fairness in Financial Contributions, 2) the proportion of households with catastrophic health expenditure, 3) the proportion of households with impoverishment due to health spending and 4) the sum of the proportion of households with catastrophic or impoverishing health spending, which is referred to as excessive health spending. The analysis presented in this document is descriptive, leaving for later studies a deeper analysis of causal aspects. The number of families that suffer impoverishment due to health spending increased from 5.2% in 1992, reached a high of 9.9% in 1996, and then gradually declined to 1.8% by 2004. The proportion of households with catastrophic expenses began at 2.8% in 1992, increased to 4.2% in 1998 and then fell to a level of 2.6% in 2004. The improvements from 2000 on are concentrated among the uninsured population, families affiliated to Popular Health Insurance, and households in the poorest two quintiles of the income distribution. The patterns over time in excessive health spending reflect a worsening during periods of economic crisis, post-crisis recovery, and a sustained improvement beginning in the year 2000. The data suggest that part of the reduction in the number of households with excessive health spending is due to the extension of financial protection for Mexican families through the Popular Health Insurance, while another part is associated with a decline in poverty. In addition,this paper documents an important relationship between economic trends and catastrophic and impoverishing health spending, suggesting the importance of financially protecting families through health insurance. Financial protection assists in guaranteeing that when economic crisis--of a country or of a family--coincides with illness, health care payments do not become the cause of a long or permanent period of impoverishment for households

Fair health financing and catastrophic health expenditures: potential impact of the coverage extension of the popular health insurance in Mexico

Objective To assess the impact on fair health financing and household catastrophic health expenditures of the implementation of the Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular de Salud). Material and methods Data analyzed in this study come from the National Income and Expenditure Household Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares, ENIGH), 2000, and the National Health Insurance and Expenditure Survey, (Encuesta Nacional de Aseguramiento y Gasto en Salud, ENAGS), 2001. Estimations are based on projections of extension of the Popular Health Insurance under different conditions of coverage and out-of-pocket expenditure reductions in the uninsured population. The mathematic simulation model assumes applying the new Popular Health Insurance financial structure to the 2000 expenditure values reported by ENIGH, given the probability of affiliation by households. Results The model of determinants of affiliation to the Popular Health Insurance yielded three significant variables: being in income quintiles I and II, being a female head of household, and that a household member had a medical visit in the past year. Simulation results show that important impacts on the performance of the Mexican Health System will occur in terms of fair financing and catastrophic expenditures, even before achieving the universal coverage goal in 2010. A reduction of 40% in out-of-pocket expenditures and a Popular Health Insurance coverage of 100% will decrease catastrophic health expenditures from 3.4% to 1.6%. Conclusions Our results show that the reduction of out-of-pocket expenditures generated by the new financing and health provision Popular Health Insurance model, will improve the financial fairness index and the financial contribution to the health system, and will decrease the percentage of households with catastrophic expenditures, even before reaching universal coverage. A greater impact may be expected due to coverage extension initiating in the poorest communities that have a very restricted and progressive financial contribution

Justicia financiera y gastos catastróficos en salud: impacto del Seguro Popular de Salud en México

Objetivo. Determinar analíticamente el impacto de la implantación del Seguro Popular de Salud sobre la justicia financiera y los gastos catastróficos de los hogares. Material y métodos. Los datos de este análisis provienen de la Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares (ENIGH) 2000 y de la Encuesta Nacional de Aseguramiento y Gasto en Salud (ENAGS) 2001. Los cálculos se basan en proyecciones de la extensión del Seguro Popular de Salud bajo diferentes escenarios de cobertura y de reducción del gasto de bolsillo entre la población no asegurada. La simulación matemática que se llevó a cabo consiste en imponer la nueva estructura financiera del Seguro Popular de Salud a los parámetros de gastos existentes en 2000, según la ENIGH, dada la probabilidad de afiliarse por parte de los hogares. Resultados. El modelo de determinantes de afiliarse al Seguro Popular registró como variables significativas el pertenecer a los quintiles de ingreso I y II, el que el jefe del hogar sea mujer y que alguien en el hogar tuviese una consulta médica en el último año. Los resultados de las simulaciones indican que aun antes de lograr la meta de cobertura universal en 2010 habrá un impacto significativo en el desempeño del sistema de salud mexicano en lo que se refiere a justicia financiera. Con una reducción de 40% en el gasto de bolsillo y una cobertura de 100% del Seguro Popular de Salud se estima una reducción en el porcentaje de hogares con gastos catastróficos de 3.4 a 1.6%. Conclusiones. Los resultados demuestran que con la reducción en el gasto del bolsillo de los hogares, que acompañará al nuevo modelo de financiamiento y de prestación de servicios de salud del Seguro Popular de Salud, se puede esperar una mejoría en el índice de justicia en la contribución al financiamiento del sistema de salud y en el porcentaje de hogares con gastos catastróficos, aun sin lograr la afiliación universal. El impacto podrá ser mayor dado que la extensión de la cobertura comenzará por las poblaciones más pobres con una contribución financiera muy reducida y progresiv

Costs of breast cancer care in Mexico: analysis of two insurance coverage scenarios

Breast cancer (BC) is a major cause of disease and death worldwide. In addition to its contribution to mortality and disability, it is a major economic burden both public and private. To estimate the average direct medical cost/year of care for the diagnosis and treatment of BC in two coverage scenarios in Mexico: What is 'ideal' based on service usage patterns according to international guidelines and what is 'current' using the service usage patterns of suppliers in Mexico. The pattern and intensity of use of procedures for the care of BC in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) for 2009 were identified and prices were associated using the guidelines from the System of Social Protection in Health (SPSS) and the IMSS for the current scenario and the ideal scenario, international patterns (Breast Health Global Initiative BHGI after its acronym in English) were used and prices were associated from the SPSS guidelines. The annual average direct medical cost per patient in the 'current' scenario was 8557 US$, while the cost in the 'ideal' scenario was 4554 US$. There are differences in costs between 'what we do' and 'what should be done', due to differences in the implementation of the interventions for the treatment of the different stages of the disease. A proportional increase in the average cost was also identified as the diagnosis stage advanced (from I to III). Given that in Mexico there is universal insurance coverage for the treatment of BC, it is necessary to use economic resources more efficiently. It is necessary to continue to examine this topic in more depth and the next step will be to assess the effectiveness of both scenarios in order to provide enough evidence for the decision-making process