ABSTRACT
Abstract-In 2013, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the largest social security institution in Latin America, began a major transformation with two clear objectives: first, to improve the quality of its services in order to achieve better health outcomes and increase satisfaction among its 70 million beneficiaries and, second, to stabilize the Institute's finances. As in many other emerging economies, Mexico's demographic and epidemiological transitions, in conjunction with bureaucratic inefficiencies, left the Institute in a precarious financial situation. In 2012, the previous administration reported to the Mexican Congress that the Institute could remain financially self-sufficient until 2014. In the first year of this administration (2013), the deficit was reduced by half. By the second year (2014), the deficit was stabilized at the same level and the trend in the use of reserves consolidated. These results consolidated financial stability of the IMSS and, even better, were carried out while maintaining service quality and improving productivity. This article discusses how the IMSS transformation prioritized micro reforms over a macro approach to solve short-term problems by administering IMSS's limited resources in a more efficient and productive manner. The article also discusses the deep transformation that IMSS health care and resource management models will need to undergo in order to face pending medium and long-term challenges to ensure that IMSS can be sustainable in the long-term.
