Healthcare Coverage Gaps: An Ongoing Challenge in Mexico and the United States

While many OECD countries have made significant progress in achieving universal or near-universal coverage for a core set of health services, there are still gaps in population coverage that need to be addressed. These services typically include consultations with doctors, various tests and examinations, as well as hospital care.

In Mexico, despite improvement in expanding coverage for health services since 2004, when it was only around 50%, the country’s population coverage for these core services remains below 95% as of 2021. Similarly, the United States has also shown progress in reducing the number of uninsured individuals following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, dropping from about 13% in 2013 to 9% in 2015. However, there has been a slower reduction in the number of uninsured people in the United States since then.

Overall, while many OECD countries have made strides towards achieving truly universal healthcare by ensuring access to essential health services for their populations, Mexico and the United States continue to struggle with lower population coverage for core health services. Ongoing efforts are needed to address these gaps and improve access to healthcare for all individuals.