Mexican Drug Makers Say Government Owes Them US$335 Million for Medicines
MEXICO · HEALTH
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico buys medicines and supplies for public hospitals in one two-year purchase of over 400 billion pesos (US$22.3 billion).
- —Why it matters Mexico’s public health system has struggled to pay for medicines since 2021, and patients have faced shortages for years.
- —What happened On 28 September AMELAF, a group of Mexican drug laboratories, said members are owed about 6 billion pesos (US$335 million).
- —Who owes it The main debtor is IMSS-Bienestar, the federal service giving free care to people without social security, the group says.
- —What it means for you Canifarma, the drug industry chamber, warned on 24 September that slow payment makes steady supply to public hospitals less certain.
- —Still open Industry totals differ, and no date has been announced for paying invoices from 2025 and earlier.
Mexican drug makers say the country’s public health system owes them about 6 billion pesos (US$335 million) for medicines already delivered. Juan de Villafranca, who leads AMELAF, an association of Mexican pharmaceutical laboratories, gave the figure in El Economista on Monday 28 September.
He said the unpaid bills are concentrated at IMSS-Bienestar, the federal service that gives free care to people without social security. Some invoices date back more than four years, and some laboratories have delivered for two years without payment.
Who owes what
Villafranca said payments from IMSS and ISSSTE, the social security institutes for private-sector and government workers, “are moving along well”. The problem, he told El Economista, lies with IMSS-Bienestar, where laboratories have delivered medicines without receiving payment.
“We have debts from this year, from last year and from four years ago,” he said in the interview. He did not give a breakdown by institution, so the share owed by each could not be independently confirmed.
Dollar figures in this article use 17.90 pesos to the dollar, the rate on 29 September. That makes the AMELAF claim about 7% of the 84 billion pesos (US$4.69 billion) in the state’s latest medicine award.
Why IMSS-Bienestar is the weak point
IMSS-Bienestar replaced a body called Insabi late in the term of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and now covers 24 states. Their governors met President Claudia Sheinbaum on 26 June to review it, reported Código F, the drug industry chamber’s blog.
In March, Eduardo Clark, the Health Ministry undersecretary for integration and development, called IMSS-Bienestar “the main institution that is behind”. IMSS and ISSSTE, which he said make up nearly 70% to 75% of billing, were paying on time, El Universal reported.
In May an internal IMSS-Bienestar circular said only services delivered in 2026 would be processed for payment, La Silla Rota reported. Debts from 2025 and earlier were left for review by the Finance Ministry, known as Hacienda.
Suppliers say the explanation they hear is simple. “We go to IMSS-Bienestar and they tell us yes, they owe, but they do not have it,” Villafranca told El Universal.
A figure that keeps moving
In September 2025, AMELAF and Canifarma, the national drug industry chamber, put the debt at about 19 billion pesos (US$1.06 billion). On 17 March 2026 Clark said it had fallen to about 5 billion pesos (US$279 million), El Universal reported.
Six months later the number rose again: Rafael Gual, Canifarma’s director, put it at about 14 billion pesos (US$782 million). Villafranca said 6 billion pesos (US$335 million) of that was owed to AMELAF members, El Universal reported on 18 September.
A week later Villafranca gave the health news site Su Médico a lower total of about 11 billion pesos (US$615 million). Of that, AMELAF’s share was about 5 billion pesos (US$279 million), he said, before returning to 6 billion on 28 September.
The government’s annual report says 110.8 billion pesos (US$6.19 billion) of pending drug-industry payments had been reconciled by 30 June. It lists this as an achievement without saying how much remained unpaid, so it is not directly comparable with industry estimates.
El Universal reported the figure on 22 September as money the government owes the industry. Villafranca told Su Médico he believed “someone made a mistake and added an extra zero”.
What the government says
Villafranca said Clark has assured the association that payments under the new 2027–2028 purchase will be made on time. Clark also promised to help clear the older debts, though Villafranca said “that point is still pending”.
Villafranca met Clark about payments on Thursday 24 September, he told Su Médico. In December 2025, Sheinbaum said about 15 billion pesos (US$838 million) of arrears for medicines had already been paid, La Jornada reported.
In March, Clark traced the debts to “some payments from the end of the previous administration”. He said 6 billion to 7 billion pesos (US$335 million to US$391 million) had been paid in the preceding months.
The new tender and its first test
On 25 September the Health Ministry awarded 626 of 766 product codes for generic, cancer and anti-infective medicines to 102 companies. The award covers about 3.2 billion units, under contracts running from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028.
The ministry compared the award with last year’s purchase of the same codes, El Economista reported. Contracts with national suppliers rose from 27 billion pesos (US$1.51 billion) to 62 billion pesos (US$3.46 billion).
Clark put the full 2027–2028 purchase of medicines and supplies at more than 400 billion pesos (US$22.3 billion). It spans more than 2,700 product codes and more than 5 billion units, El Economista reported.
Birmex, the state company running the purchase, is expected to handle orders and payments, columnist Mario Maldonado wrote in El Universal. IMSS-Bienestar would play a much smaller role, and earlier debts had made suppliers wary of the tender, he wrote.
Alejandro Córdova of Canifarma told El Economista that “the next stretch is the one that matters most” to patients and institutions. Deliveries, he said, must be “timely, complete and traceable”.
What patients and suppliers see
Using 2023 data, the civil-society groups Cero Desabasto and Nosotrxs counted about 7.5 million public prescriptions not fully filled. That covered IMSS, ISSSTE, the army, the navy and the state oil company Pemex, La Silla Rota reported in June 2025.
The same count found that IMSS-Bienestar did not fully fill 6.3% of its prescriptions in 2023, or 160,946. Health workers in Puebla, Hidalgo and Baja California have protested to demand medicines and supplies, La Silla Rota reported in May.
Asmedis, an association of medicine distributors, says suppliers have been paid less than 10% of the value delivered in 2026. For 2025 the share paid is below 40%, the group told Su Médico.
Gual told MVS Noticias on 24 September that slow payment drains the working capital of small and mid-sized suppliers. He added that manufacturers need three to four months to produce and deliver once a tender is awarded.
In July Éctor Ramírez Barba, a lawmaker for the conservative National Action Party (PAN), warned that tender delays risked new shortages. He also questioned why Birmex remains in charge of purchasing, MVS Noticias reported.
What comes next
About 15% of the codes in that round went unawarded and will be tendered again this year, the ministry said. Awards in two tenders for medical supplies are due on 2 and 9 October.
The claim does not mean public hospitals are about to run out of medicines. Villafranca said the Mexican drug makers in his group remain committed to supply and called himself “optimistic”.
What is not known is when, or whether, Hacienda will release money for invoices from 2025 and earlier. The exact size of the debt could not be independently confirmed either.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IMSS-Bienestar?
It is a federal health service that gives free medical care to people in Mexico without social security. It replaced an earlier body called Insabi and now operates in 24 states.
What is AMELAF?
AMELAF, the Asociación Mexicana de Laboratorios Farmacéuticos, is an association of Mexican pharmaceutical laboratories. Its executive president is Juan de Villafranca, and Astrea Ocampo has chaired its board since March 2026.
How much do Mexican drug makers say they are owed?
AMELAF puts its members’ claim at about 6 billion pesos (US$335 million). Industry estimates for all suppliers ranged from about 11 billion to 14 billion pesos (US$615 million to US$782 million) in September.
Are medicines running short in Mexico?
Shortages have been reported for years: Cero Desabasto counted about 7.5 million prescriptions not fully filled in 2023. Industry groups warn slow payment adds risk, while AMELAF says its members remain committed to supply.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
In depth
Read More from The Rio Times