Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Private investment has significantly expanded Mexico’s healthcare infrastructure, with hospital networks raising standards in technology, facilities, and clinical expertise.
- Prevention as the priority for the next four years: The biggest opportunity ahead lies in prevention, early detection, and long-term health management, enabled through membership-based models and accessible checkups.
- Health data is shifting to private hands: As public systems weaken, health data is increasingly fragmented and moving toward private healthcare managers, making integration a critical challenge.
- Technology and AI enable outcome-focused care: Advanced analytics and AI can turn fragmented data into predictive, outcome-driven programs, particularly for chronic diseases.
- Scaling in Mexico before regional expansion: Mutuus is growing rapidly across B2C and B2B, focusing on scaling in Mexico first before expanding to similar markets in the region.
EF: Looking back to look forward, what are two achievements that we should celebrate from the last ten years to today in the Mexican life science ecosystem?
JB: I would mainly point to the private sector, as this is where there is genuinely much to celebrate. On the one hand, the level of investment in healthcare infrastructure has been significant. Today, there are many more hospitals, particularly large and medium-sized facilities, most of them developed by major hospital chains. These institutions offer high-quality infrastructure, advanced technology and facilities, and highly qualified physicians. The professionals working in these hospitals bring a strong depth of experience, which I see as an important achievement for the system as a whole.
On the other hand, I would also highlight the role of technology in expanding access to good-quality healthcare. A growing number of market players now offer solutions and services that allow people to access care that is not only of higher quality, but also more affordable, more immediate, and supported by better information.
EF: What is the priority or goal that should guide Mexico’s healthcare system over the next four years?
JB: Prevention is the key to achieving meaningful impact on a country’s health outcomes. At Mutuus, we are beginning to put this into practice through a program that will reach every person we serve, whom we refer to as members, reflecting the healthcare membership model we operate under. Our approach is grounded in prevention, early detection of disease, and the ongoing monitoring and control of health conditions over time.
As part of this effort, we are introducing a program in which every member has access to a checkup tailored to their age and gender, fully covered by us. Participation will be optional. However, we believe that as we continue to communicate the benefits of preventive care, early detection, and long-term health monitoring, participation will naturally increase over time.
This approach will generate valuable information and insights into the health status of our population, enabling us to better understand their needs and support them more effectively. It will also allow us to design affordable programs that improve health outcomes, both today and in the years ahead.
In parallel, tools such as AI will play an increasingly important role. They will help us analyze this data and develop outcome-focused programs, particularly for people living with chronic conditions. In Mexico, a large share of the population faces diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Addressing these challenges through prevention, early detection, continuous monitoring, and data-driven programs will be critical over the next four years.
EF: How would you assess Mexico’s current data architecture and infrastructure for supporting population health management? And to what extent is Mutuus building or partnering to ensure this data is effectively captured and fully used?
JB: Mexico was once a country with a strong foundation of health data at the population level. We were relatively advanced in areas such as vaccination programs and disease control, and we had solid information on the health status of the population.
Unfortunately, as public infrastructure and investment have declined, the situation has deteriorated. In response, people have increasingly turned to alternative sources of care. Pharmacy-based clinics have effectively become a form of primary care for much of the population. While this has helped compensate for gaps in public investment, it has also come at a cost. The downside is a growing loss of information, disease control, and valuable health data. From the perspective of those of us who have worked in healthcare for many years, this data has been lost not only by healthcare professionals but also at the government level.
Looking ahead, I believe responsibility for this information will increasingly fall to private healthcare managers and emerging healthcare delivery models. These private players are likely to become the primary owners and stewards of health data in the future.
One of the central challenges will be integration. Today, health data is fragmented across many private healthcare systems throughout the country. The key question is how to bring this information together so that it can be used in a coordinated way to address population-wide health challenges.
At the same time, continued advances in technology will allow us to build more sophisticated models, even for smaller population groups. By drawing on insights from larger datasets, we will be better able to predict outcomes and manage the specific populations under our care. While the challenge is significant, it is also an exciting opportunity. Technology will enable us to use data far more efficiently and, most importantly, in ways that genuinely improve care and help us address healthcare needs more effectively.
EF: Who are the members you currently represent within your population management? What are some common characteristics of those you cover today, and where would you like to go in the future?
JB: Over the past two to three years, we have seen strong growth, particularly in the B2B segment. In this area, we support small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners by enabling them, often for the first time, to offer a healthcare benefit that was previously out of reach or simply not affordable. We designed a specific package that fits the budget of almost any SMB, allowing business owners to provide this benefit to their employees. Through this approach, we connect SMB employees to our platform and give them access to the healthcare system we have built around a membership model.
At the same time, we remain very strong in the B2C market. The primary population we serve there is the middle class. This is a large segment that historically lacked access to financial solutions that could support better access to good quality healthcare, particularly when a serious health issue required hospital care.
We are currently raising a new investment round. Our objective is to remain focused on scaling within Mexico, where there is still a significant opportunity. This focus also allows us to further refine our systems and platform, continue integrating different healthcare solutions, and expand our prevention, screening, and health management programs.
In the medium term, likely within the next couple of years, we will be ready to take our technology and business model into other countries with similarities to Mexico. There are many markets with limited public healthcare systems, a large middle class, and strong SMB segments where people could benefit from what we have built and from the experience we have gained in Mexico.
EF: Using an Ironman analogy, where would you place Mutuus today in its journey? Are you still in the swim, already on the bike, or moving into the run, and what does that stage say about your current level of progress?
JB: We are still in the training phase, although we have made solid progress in building our foundation and strengthening our capabilities. If I extend the race analogy, our first phase resembles the swim. It is about learning, preparing, and finding our rhythm. It is similar to getting your first smartwatch, using it to monitor training, track key metrics, and better understand your own performance and limits.
With average annual growth of over 40%, we are still at an early stage of the journey. What we are seeing today is only a small part of what technology will allow us to do, not only to expand access to healthcare, but more importantly, to strengthen prevention, monitoring, disease control, and ultimately help people live healthier and better lives.
EF: As one of the health transformers in the Mexican life sciences ecosystem, what would you like to accomplish by 2026?
JB: I would be very pleased to have fully launched our preventive and screening initiative, the checkup program, across our entire member base. Having the program up and running, with strong participation, would represent a meaningful milestone, both for the future of the company and for our ability to offer something truly valuable and tailored to each individual.
EF: Regarding investors, what kind of investors are you looking for?
JB: We are engaging primarily with venture capital investors from Latin America and the United States. There is strong interest from US investors in the region, particularly in large markets such as Mexico and Brazil, and a clear willingness to support companies like ours as we work toward our goals and objectives.
