A back-and-forth betwixt your author and an interested reader got snarled up in a debate over coverage for illegal immigrants in the event that mandated universal coverage happens (once again, I’m betting it will).
What’s interesting about this (and I promise there’s a pony in here, just a para or two below) is that Mexico will likely have universal coverage before we do.
No, it is not perfect, nor does it cover every conceivable condition and ailment, but it is in place, it is working, and covering more people each month. The program goes by the rather cool name “Seguro Popular”.
SP began operation in 2003 as the insurance component of the System for Social Protection in Health, a comprehensive effort to improve performance of the country’s health system. With a goal of covering 50 million Mexicans by 2010, SP has 22 million enrolled to date, with coverage among the poorest exceeding expectations. The program is delivering positive results in several respects – hypertension-related disease, lower incidence of and costs associated with catastrophic conditions, and better access to care for pregnant women.
SP premiums are income-based with the poorest paying nothing; the program is funded by taxes.
The Mexican government is also enrolling Mexican immigrants in the US through consulates.
Mexico has a population of 109 million, give or take. And you say the Mexican government has managed to enroll 22 million in this Seguro Really Popular? After only 4 years?
That’s a good thing because Seguro Really Popular could solve a fair portion of the problem of uninsured in the U.S. in a jiffy.
Now THAT would be cool.