From Coverage to Universal Healthcare: Addressing the Gaps in Mexico and the United States

Since 2004, Mexico has shown progress in expanding coverage for health services, but recent years have seen a decline. Meanwhile, the United States has made strides in reducing the number of uninsured individuals following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, but there is still work to be done to achieve truly universal healthcare.

While many OECD countries have achieved near-universal coverage for core health services such as consultations with doctors, tests and examinations, and hospital care, population coverage remains below 95% in six countries as of 2021. Among these are Mexico and the United States, which lag behind at below 90%.

Despite initial progress in reducing the number of uninsured individuals in the United States following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, there has been a slower reduction in coverage since then. In Mexico, while there has been improvement since 2004 when coverage was around 50%, recent years have seen a decline.

Overall, ongoing efforts are needed to address gaps in coverage and achieve truly universal healthcare for all individuals. This is particularly important for countries like Mexico and the United States where population coverage for core health services is below the desired threshold.