Tamaulipas governor Américo Villarreal Anaya universal health system, Digi Mart USA News (Tamaulipas, Mexico): Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya said that, with a humanist vision, the Transformation governments have elevated the protection of health to the category of a human right. To guarantee its exercise for the entire population, he said, medical services are being reorganized with the goal of advancing toward a universal, free national health system close to communities.
During Sunday’s broadcast of the program “Diálogos con Américo,” under the theme “One Health System to Care,” Villarreal Anaya highlighted what he described as an unprecedented push by the Transformation governments to make health a human right for Mexicans. He explained that the administrations of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo have driven a change in the model of medical care.
He said the previous scheme tied access to health services mainly to employment benefits and favored private providers. The goal now is to move toward universal coverage.
“This became a human right, a guarantee the State must have and must provide to all its citizens,” he said, referring to changes made under Article 4 of the Constitution.
Villarreal Anaya said the process seeks to overcome fragmentation of the health system and differences in quality and timeliness of care between institutions and states. The aim is to offer medical services under common criteria through coordination mechanisms.
He explained that the reorganization involves the IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS-Bienestar and the medical institutions of other federal agencies, so that people can receive care without their entitlement status or administrative procedures becoming obstacles. “The citizen will be able to show up at a hospital or clinic, request care, and be given care,” the governor said.
The governor acknowledged that integrating services is a complex process requiring institutional coordination, financing and ongoing monitoring. He cited the support of President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom he said treats health as a priority.
“We are in the process, it is not an easy path,” he said, pointing to national coordination meetings aimed at unifying medical services.
Villarreal Anaya said another component is bringing health services closer to where people live through community clinics. These would resolve everyday ailments and provide medical follow-up without requiring travel to hospitals or specialized units.
“All hospitals are accessible, but now the vision is that they be approachable, where people need them,” he said.
He said the Universal Health System plans more than 12,000 clinics nationwide to provide medical care, preventive guidance, medicines and follow-up for chronic diseases. According to him, these spaces will treat respiratory, gastrointestinal and common infections and monitor patients with diabetes, hypertension, overweight and high cholesterol.
They will also support child development monitoring, initial prenatal care, vaccination programs and other public health actions.
During the broadcast, which aired on the state Radio and Television Tamaulipas system, Villarreal Anaya said the strategy is complemented by strengthening the state’s hospital infrastructure. Hospitals have been completed in Ciudad Madero and Matamoros, and the Oncology Center, the Children’s Hospital and other specialized medical units have been re-equipped.
On prevention and diagnosis, Villarreal Anaya stressed the importance of early detection to reduce complications from chronic degenerative diseases and improve quality of life. He warned about risks associated with obesity, sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits, and called for periodic checkups to detect diabetes, hypertension and various types of cancer.
He reported that, according to health sector reports, supply of medicines for chronic diseases in Tamaulipas stands at about 84%, while supply for infectious conditions and oncology treatments exceeds 94%.
