Introduction
While the public healthcare system in Mexico faces numerous challenges, the private sector has not been immune to similar issues. Although there are instances of superior care in private hospitals, a persistent lack of transparency has been a significant concern. Patients seeking private healthcare, particularly hospital services, often struggle to make informed decisions due to the absence of clear references for comparison.
The Emergence of the Private Hospital Ranking
In 2020, the Ranking of Best Private Hospitals in Mexico was introduced by the Mexican Health Foundation (Funsalud) and Blutitude Consultants, supported editorially by Grupo Expansión. The ranking aimed to promote transparency in the private healthcare sector, which has been criticized for its lack of clarity regarding service quality.
Current Status and Challenges
As of 2025, the ranking is in its sixth edition; however, it has faced obstacles revealing divisions within the Mexican hospital industry. Key hospitals such as Centro Médico ABC and Grupo Ángeles, historically leading the National Association of Private Hospitals, chose not to participate by declining to provide information. This decision influenced other hospitals, like Hospital Español (excluding its Veracruz branch) and Grupo San Ángel Inn Dalinde (with Centro Médico Dalinde and Hospital San Ángel Inn Universidad), to follow suit.
This non-participation is not trivial; it reflects tensions surrounding accountability in an industry that absorbs over 900,000 million pesos annually and increasingly receives patients who were not attended to in the public sector.
Context and Concerns
The public healthcare system is overwhelmed, with IMSS and ISSSTE drowning in debts and endless waiting lists. IMSS Bienestar is still being established, but it has not managed to alleviate demand for private care. In Mexico City, five new hospitals are opening, while similar expansions occur in Nuevo León and Jalisco.
The private hospital market is competitive, fragmented by socioeconomic classes, with medium-sized chains like Grupo Polar and Hospitales MAC gaining ground in accessible niches, distancing themselves from giants like Muguerza or ABC. However, hospital growth is uneven: medical expense insurance policies with premiums deterring the middle class (which will only increase with IVA) do not grow at the same rate as demand.
Moreover, flaws in incentives prioritize hospital margins, physician commissions, and bonuses to medical supply providers, leaving patients vulnerable as the weakest link, paying out-of-pocket without knowing if they receive optimal or merely timely care.
Importance of Transparency
Fragmentation in the private sector underscores the need for transparency. The Funsalud ranking is a valuable step, though it has limitations and will require improvements. It serves as a mirror for regional listings—six in total: Norte, Noreste, Occidente, Centro, Sur, and CDMX Zona Metropolitana—unlike the commercially-driven US Newsweek ranking or the Chilean IntelLat consultancy ranking, which reportedly copies the Mexican ranking.
The concern lies in the profile of those choosing to obstruct the Mexican effort. Notable absentees, such as Hospital ABC and Español (non-profit entities), should champion transparency. Their boards, with ethical mandates, must address this absence that fosters opacity. Self-exclusion in a sector addressing public gaps reeks of defending a comfortable status quo, with decades of unexamined loyalties and scarce information benefiting closed networks.
Hospital Boom in Mexico’s Capital
In Mexico City and its metropolitan area, hospitals continue to be built rapidly. There are currently 64 private hospitals offering comprehensive services, but more are being constructed. Five new hospitals are set to open: Star Médica is collaborating on two, with a new hospital in Cuicuilco (formerly Torre Telmex, now StarMédica Pedregal) joining its 15 existing locations and another behind Plaza Carso. Additionally, MAC Santa Fe is opening near Hospital ABC Santa Fe, and San Angel Inn will have a facility in Ciudad Satélite. More are planned for 2026: Hospital Angeles Polanco, Star Médica Polanco, and MAC’s expansion in Naucalpan.
The industry must accurately gauge demand given this rapid growth.
Vaccine Shortage in Private Pharmacies
As winter approaches, more people visit private pharmacies for the updated ARNm Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Comirnaty. Approved by Cofepris in August, Mexico was among the first to register this vaccine for the new strain following OMS guidelines. However, the availability of Comirnaty in private pharmacies in Mexico City was scarce over the weekend. Pfizer must clarify why it is failing to reach retail points.
The nascent private vaccination system in Mexico needs to become more efficient and agile.
Italian Group Alfasigma’s Expansion in Mexico
The Italian Group Alfasigma recently announced a 100 million pesos investment to expand its presence in the consumer health market and launched a digital platform focused on prevention, care, and support for those suffering from ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease affecting approximately 48,000 Mexicans.
Alfasigma operates in over 100 markets, with production plants in Italy, Spain, and the United States, and R&D labs in Italy, employing 4,000 people dedicated to research, development, production, and distribution of products.
