El Fondo de Protección contra Gastos Catastróficos: tendencia, evolución y operación.

Objective. To document the status of operational and managerial processes of the Fund for Protection against Catastrophic Expenses (FPGC), as well as to describe its evolution, and to explore the relationship between covered diseases and the Mexican health profile. Material and Methods. This is a joint management study, which included a qualitative and a quantitative phase. We conducted semistructured interviews with key informants. We also analyzed the records of CNPSS, the hospital discharge and mortality data bases. Results. Fifty two percent of the states take twice as long to report and validate the cases. From 2004-2009 the FPGC increased its coverage from 6 to 49 interventions, that means a spending increase of 2 306.4% in nominal terms and 1 659.3% in real terms. The HIV/AIDS was the intervention prioritized with 39.3% and Mexico City had the highest proportion of expenditure (25.1%). A few diseases included in the health profile are covered by the FPGC. Conclusions. The review of the inclusion criteria of diseases is urgent, so as to cover diseases of epidemiological importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]