Overview of the Situation
The President of the Mexican Association of Institutional Health Distribution (Asmedis), José Luis García Rodríguez, has raised concerns about the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS)-Bienestar’s progress in settling its debts with the pharmaceutical industry. While the IMSS and ISSSTE are making strides in resolving their outstanding payments, the IMSS-Bienestar lags behind due to bureaucratic hurdles, with no clear timeline for completing its debt liquidation.
Debt Details
The total unpaid amount to pharmaceutical companies amounts to approximately 19,000 million pesos. Of this sum, around 8,000 million belong to the IMSS-Bienestar.
IMSS and ISSSTE Progress
José Luis García Rodríguez clarified that the IMSS-Bienestar is unlikely to settle its entire debt by year’s end due to bureaucratic delays. However, he assured that the IMSS has started making payments to its suppliers and committed to allocating 1,700 million pesos every two weeks. This should result in the debts being nearly settled by the end of the year.
Similarly, the ISSSTE is expected to resolve its payments before 2026, despite some operational challenges.
Burocratic Hurdles for IMSS-Bienestar
Despite the challenges, García Rodríguez expressed confidence that the bureaucratic issues at IMSS-Bienestar would be resolved. Authorities have pledged to eliminate unnecessary procedures that have complicated the review of outstanding payments to pharmaceutical providers.
- Upcoming Changes: García Rodríguez mentioned that on October 24, a communication should be issued eliminating these unnecessary processes to allow for a review of pending payments to pharmaceutical providers.
- Collaborative Efforts: Providers have met with the Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance, along with IMSS, ISSSTE, and IMSS-Bienestar, to address the unpaid debts accrued over the past four years.
Regularization of Medical Supplies
During the same event, Carlos Salazar Gaytán, President of the National Association of Health Providers (ANAPS), stated that despite the debts, the supply of medical devices is being regularized. Although risks remain that some provider companies may face penalties or disqualification, the supply level has reached 85-86% in October, with a target of 98% in November.
These improvements come after individual case reviews of medical device providers’ compliance levels.
Salazar Gaytán acknowledged the possibility of penalties for some companies that have failed to meet delivery deadlines but expressed hope that none would be disqualified, as this could complicate public procurement processes.
