Mexican Social Security Institute

There are three sectors in the Mexican health care system public, social security, and private. The public sector is primarily directed and operated by the Secretariat of Health. The public sector of health services is under the Secretariat of Health and is coordinated by over 200 health districts. The Federal District Department provides health care services to some 3.2 million people in Mexico City. The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) Solidarity program covers another 10 million people in rural areas. 

The social security system covers health services for government employees, managed by the Social Insurance Institute of State Employees (ISSSTE), and for private-sector workers, managed by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). The two agencies operate their own networks of hospitals and clinics and provide similar benefits. Some other smaller social security agencies exist, providing medical services for special groups such as the army, navy, and state oil company personnel. 

Fig. (2). Three drawings, from three different epochs, account the morphological cheu acterisites of "cihuapatli" (A/, tomentosa). Left, a drawing found in Martin dc la Cruz "Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis," middle, a drawing of "ciliuaptli hemionitico" recorded in Herndndez s History of the Plants of New Spain, and, right, an artistic representation of a herbarium voucher deposited in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSSM) herbarium, Mexico in the 1980 s.

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants conducted by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, revealed B. crassifolia was among the ten most frequently mentioned plants used by traditional healers for gastrointestinal disorders, specially for the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery. Other indications included child delivery, for the treatment of vaginal flux, and to treat stomatitis [71]. Other ethnomedical information collected about crassifolia is in good correspondence with the reported survey [70, 72] and correlate well with the medical uses given in the XVI century (Table 6). 

The social security system covers health services for government employees, managed by the Social Insurance Institute of State Employees (ISSSTE), and for private-sector workers, managed by the Mexican... 

Doctors working for the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) or the Institute of Social Security and Services for Government Workers (ISSSTE) are considered to be government officers, and therefore are not allowed to receive gifts or donations from pharmaceutical companies. 

Mexico has separate insurance coverage systems including one for those employed by the private sector—the Mexican Institute of Social Services, another for state workers— the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers, a third for military, petroleum, and electric company workers, and a fourth for those uninsured by other programs. Published information on coverage of LTMV in Mexico is unavailable. 

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