Objective:

To estimate the cost-effectiveness ratio of public and private health care providers funded by Seguro Popular.

Materials and methods:

A pilot contracting primary care health care scheme in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, was evaluated through a population survey to assess quality of care and detection decreased of vision. Costs were assessed from the payer perspective using institutional sources.The alternatives analyzed were a private provider with capitated and performance-based payment modalities, and a public provider funded through budget subsidies. Sensitivity analysis was performed using Monte Carlo simulations.

Results:

The private provider is dominant in the quality and cost-effective detection of decreased vision.

Conclusions:

Strategic purchasing of private providers of primary care has shown promising results as an alternative to improving quality of health services and reducing costs.