Zoé Robledo, director general of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), revealed during the inauguration of the Eighth North Regional Meeting 2026, that the population in Mexico without IMSS coverage was reduced to 48.2%. Robledo presented a balance on the institution's coverage. He highlighted that the percentage of the population without access to social security has decreased significantly in recent years. “In 2018, 53.5% of Mexicans did not have IMSS, currently that figure has been reduced to 48.2%”, he assured. “This implies that a little more than half of the population (51.8%) already has access to the Institute's services”. Robledo attributed this improvement in service directly to the growth of formal employment, the increase in wages, and the affiliation policies promoted by the current government. “IMSS is the institution that has most increased its insured population in the country”, indicated the head of Social Security. The financial viability of the Institute, he added, is not at risk. He stated that the growth in infrastructure, personnel, and care capacity is based on solid technical analysis and a “responsible, efficient, and honest” use of resources. Robledo detailed that the strengthening of IMSS will continue through new insurance modalities, such as the affiliation of Independent Workers, Domestic Workers, and Platform Workers. Only between July 2025 and February 2026, he said, income from platform worker quotas reached 2,245 million pesos. In addition, he announced that, by instruction from President Claudia Sheinbaum, work is being done on the incorporation of agricultural workers into the social security system, a structural change that will impact regions such as San Quintín, Baja California. Five Axes of IMSS The director general emphasized that the future sustainability of IMSS depends on five axes: quality in service with less waiting times, supervision in the territory, efficiency and honesty in spending, linkage with other authorities. And participation in federal programs such as Vive Saludable, Vive Feliz, and Salud Casa por Casa. The North Regional Meeting 2026, which is being held from April 8 to 10 in Monterrey, brings together medical authorities and executives from Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, and was conceived as a space to reflect on the Institute's viability and its future.
