IMSS Telemedicine for Mexicans Abroad in 2025

Mexico City — The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) has announced the launch of a medical teleconsultation program for Mexicans living abroad who are affiliated with the institute. The program is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2025.

The initiative will involve approximately 3,000 nurses specializing in family medicine. These medical professionals will provide digital appointments, which can be scheduled through the IMSS Digital application. The service will operate during extended hours, from Monday to Sunday.

The program is described as a real public policy, not a symbolic gesture. It will involve creating electronic medical records, providing clinical follow-up, promoting preventative health, and activating mechanisms for specialized remote care.

The context for this new service is the large Mexican diaspora, which is cited as one of the largest in the world. More than 12 million Mexicans live outside the country, with 97 percent of them residing in the United States.

The article illustrates the need with the story of Lorena, who lives in Michoacán, and her son Javier, who has worked in construction in New York for a decade. Javier's earnings pay for his younger siblings' schooling, maintain his family's home, and cover his mother's medication. However, when he gets sick, a medical consultation in the United States without health insurance can cost him the equivalent of what he sends to his family in a week.

The announcement contrasts this new policy with the approach of past federal governments. The article states that during the administrations of Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón, and Enrique Peña Nieto, health was treated as a privilege. It describes a "policy of simulation" with hospitals that were inaugurated but never equipped, clinics that remained closed, and programs announced for the cameras that never reached the people.

The current administration under President Claudia Sheinbaum is credited with a different, evident approach: announcing services that actually reach those most in need, including those living beyond the border.

This telemedicine program builds upon a previous policy from 2021 that opened the Independent Worker (Persona Trabajadora Independiente, or PTI) modality. This allowed thousands of Mexicans in the United States to affiliate with the IMSS, providing medical coverage, allowing them to recover weeks of social security contributions, insure family members, and in many cases, regain access to a pension.

The new service is also contrasted with other health systems, specifically that of the United States, where a hospitalization can represent a very high cost for those without medical insurance. The IMSS is presented as a social shield that provides accompaniment and protection.

Internationally, the program aligns Mexico with global experiences. The European Union has promoted cross-border health frameworks, and countries like Nepal and India have promoted telemedicine for their rural or migrant communities. Satellite platforms have also been used to bring care to previously inaccessible regions.

The IMSS teleconsultation is framed as both a technological innovation and a form of recognition, affirming that rights do not expire with a passport nor disappear when crossing a border. The measure is described as sending a clear message that no one is left behind, including those who are far away or were previously invisible to the state.