Why This is Important to Wisconsin: Opportunities could beckon for Wisconsin companies in health care equipment and technology.
Mexico’s population and its middle class are on the rise, and with those trends, the country’s health care system is working to expand.
But Mexico still lags behind many other nations when it comes to health indicators.
According to the 2021 Global Health Security Index, which measures the ability of 195 countries to respond to pandemics, Mexico ranks 25th worldwide and No. 1 in Latin America.
It is No. 6 in its ability to respond to a global health incident but No. 30 in terms of detecting a pandemic and No. 50 in its ability to prevent one, the survey shows.
Children born in Mexico are expected to live, on average, to age 75—six years lower than the average of 81 years among about 40 countries surveyed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Better Life Index.
Mexico had the highest rate of diabetes, at 13.5% of the population, the OECD said, and was one of three countries with the highest obesity rate.
Insurance coverage for health care has expanded in recent years. In 2003, Mexico initiated its Seguro Popular, which doubled the number of people qualified to receive public health coverage to more than 50 million, making it available to those who did not get coverage through an employer. Vaccine availability improved, and rates of infant and maternal deaths dropped by more than 50%, according to a November 2023 report by the Council on Foreign Relations.
However, the report said, a new administration began dismantling the program in 2019, and coverage declined by 16.8% between 2018 and 2020. It also resulted in longer waits to see a doctor and higher out-of-pocket payments.
Mexico has a thriving pharmaceutical industry, though, and a growing private hospital sector that serves about 25% of the population, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA).
The ITA says Mexico imported nearly $5.8 billion worth of medical equipment and devices in 2023, and $1.8 billion of that came from U.S. suppliers.
Wisconsin companies with goods and services for the health care market could find opportunities to participate in Mexico.
