BARRIERS TO ACCESS HEALTHCARE FOR MIDDLE AMERICAN MIGRANTS DURING TRANSIT IN MEXICO

This paper draws attention to a little discussed aspect of access to healthcare for the hundreds of thousands of migrants that transit through Mexico to reach the United States, which in theory under the old system was covered via Seguro Popular. To inform future debates on the right to health of migrants, this paper analyses semi structured interviews of thirty-one transit migrants in Monterrey to understand the different barriers to healthcare that migrants faced under the former system. The results cover access to information, economic access, physical access, and discrimination. The paper concludes that these barriers are significant, with access to information standing out as the largest challenge. Our policy recommendations mainly center around improving the (information) outreach to migrants.