A few days ago, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) in its report for the fourth month of the year informed the Congress of the Union that the under-exercise in health amounted to 18,701.8 million pesos. Not to believe that in the midst of a pandemic and in the face of so much need, the Government insists on not spending all the resources that are available for the health of Mexicans.
Of the 59,838.6 million pesos that the health sector had to spend from branch 12 during the first quarter of the year, it only spent 69%, which was 41,136.8 million pesos. The other 18,701.8 million ready to be used in something as fundamental as the health of the population, were left waiting in other federal Treasury accounts.
This means that the Health Sector is failing to spend a third of the available resources as approved in the 2022 Expenditure Budget. This is simply shameful and deplorable, with so many needs and shortages in hospitals and health centers. It is a severe offense, especially for those patients who are running out of medications or who have their studies delayed by some broken equipment or who have been waiting months for their intervention to be scheduled.
According to the monthly monitoring of the budget carried out by the Center for Economic and Budgetary Research (CIEP), in April 2022 half of what was spent in the same month of 2021 was spent, something inconceivable when only due to inflation would have to be spent more to level.
This no longer surprises anyone because everyone knows the lack of competition in the health sector during the current government, and that this has been very evident, especially in the Health Institute for Well-being (Insabi) with the disorder in purchases and the consequent persistent shortage of medicines.
Those of the Treasury do not report in detail to which area this sub-exercise corresponds, since these precisions are available up to the full year exercised, that is, in the annual report, and therefore it is not feasible today to officially verify in which item such a size of lag is being registered in the expense.
But the deputy Éctor Jaime Ramírez Barba, who does understand the budget clearly, did his analysis and managed to locate that this lag in spending can only correspond to code U013, which is for Health Care and Free Medications for the Population without Labor Social Security. It is an expense item that would previously correspond to Seguro Popular, and therefore they are resources that now have to be exercised by Insabi, especially for the payment of personnel and for the purchase of medicines. And yes, we believe Dr. Ramírez Barba because not only does he have a doctorate in public administration, but he has also been state health secretary twice and federal legislator 3 times and even president of the Health Commission, that is, he is one of the few experts and with real vivid experience in budgeting matters.
With such a size of under-exercise in Insabi, it is evident, as Deputy Ramírez Barba says, that for the Federal Government it is not a priority to raise the quality of health services or expand coverage to the entire population.
It is also confirmed not only the continuity of the shortage of medicines and other health supplies that hurts the population so much, especially those with fewer resources, but also the reason for the complaints of the pharmaceutical companies that since the beginning of the year have been claiming the lag in payments. from UNOPS and Insabi. There are more than 18,000 million pesos that have been stuck in the treasury coffers simply due to the ineptitude and lack of competence in the structure of the Institute directed by Juan Ferrer.
Journalist on economics and health issues
Health and Business
Communicator specialized in public health and the health industry. She is studying a master’s degree in Health Systems Administration at FCA of UNAM.
Founder in 2004 of www.Plenilunia.com, a concept on women’s health. I am passionate about researching and reporting on health, innovation, the industry related to science, and finding the objective business approach to each topic.