The Conundrum of Healthcare Access in Cuba and the 1962 US Embargo of Cuba

Cuba’s Medical Revolution: What can other countries learn from medical advances in Cuba (Livia Gershon/JSTOR Daily).

On the surface, Cuba boasts of a healthcare system that would be the envy of the world—universal, free of charge, accessible, regionalized, community-centered, and deeply rooted in preventive medicine. However, Cuba’s unprecedented access to healthcare provides a useful lens through which to evaluate what the system genuinely offers its citizens, both positively and negatively.

Indeed, access to care is streamlined, and it is far easier to seek treatment than in the United States, even for foreigners. According to unverified traveler accounts, some tourists report receiving rapid and inexpensive medical care in Cuba. One such anecdote describes an American visitor in 2022 who claimed she received X-rays, a doctor’s exam, a cast, and pain medication for under $20 in about an hour. However, no independent confirmation of this account exists, and broader reporting indicates that the quality and availability of medical services for foreigners in Cuba can vary widely.The question is this: What kind of images were taken, how much training did the doctor have, and where did the pharmaceutical drugs come from?

A glimpse into the daily reality for Cuban citizens makes the contrast even sharper. According to a 2021 Reuters report, Havana residents described going from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of the medications their doctors had prescribed, only to be told that even basic anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics were unavailable. Many were forced to rely on home remedies or barter with neighbors to manage chronic conditions. 

These shortages are not isolated incidents but part of a wider pattern documented across Havana. Reuters found that families were unable to treat even simple conditions like scabies because pharmacies lacked basic medications, pushing both patients and doctors toward herbal remedies, bartering, or unregulated black-market drugs. This reality stands in stark contrast to Cuba’s historic reputation for strong medical outcomes and highlights how economic strain and supply issues have eroded the country’s ability to provide consistent, safe care for its own citizens.

Cuba’s own state pharmaceutical company later confirmed the depth of the crisis. As Havana Times reported in 2023, BioCubaFarma acknowledged it could not supply a significant share of the country’s essential medicines list due to a lack of raw materials and production inputs . For ordinary Cubans—such as the elderly woman Reuters interviewed who had spent weeks searching for the pain medication she needed—the “universal” healthcare system offers access to doctors, but not always the treatments required to restore or preserve health.

The U.S. embargo on Cuba began in 1962 during the Kennedy administration and has had widespread implications in all facets of life for Cubans. Before the enactment of the embargo, the U.S. imported 70% of all Cuban goods. The embargo reduced this to 0% overnight, and it has remained at 0% since then. The embargo had much deeper implications—the restriction of information and the exchange of critical supplies and assistance, especially when it comes to medicine. Most healthcare companies, from pharmaceutical to biotechnology, avoid doing business in Cuba because of the embargo and the consequences with the U.S. if they did pursue business opportunities in Cuba. Most importantly, there is no exchange of information or access to peer-reviewed journals and studies, which severely restricts the advancement of medicine in Cuba. Because the embargo restricts access to U.S. medical journals, pharmaceuticals, and clinical technologies, Cuban providers often lack the up-to-date guidelines that shape modern treatment standards internationally.

All of this begs the question again—access to care may be the best in the world in Cuba, but exactly what is the standard of care that Cubans are receiving because of the embargo?  There are no concrete and reliable data from the Cuban government, only propaganda and state-sponsored data, which is carefully monitored. It is fair to assume that healthcare in Cuba is not to the standard of care worldwide, although access may be easy and attainable for the average citizen. The global health community must take a stronger stand and convince our government leaders to lift this 63-year-old embargo not just for the sake of Cuba’s economy, but also for the sake of the health of its citizens. Only then can the global community have assurance that Cuban citizens not only have access to healthcare, but the type of care that is palliative, curative, and preventative, and meets accepted global standards.