Neighboring Sonora plans to join a federal plan that seeks to expand health care access.

One of the key goals of the so-called federalization plan is to improve access specifically among those who are not enrolled in the national social security system (IMSS).

“The order from the president was to centralize, to federalize the health system,” said Zoé Robledo, the head of IMSS.

A key part of that plan is to put state health care facilities under federal control in Sonora and other states across the country, moving away from what he described as a “historically fragmented” system.

The plan, which Sonora’s governor just signed onto, also includes significant investments to improve infrastructure, fill hundreds of vacant positions in the state and train medical personnel.