Family Spending on Health in Brazil
By André Medici (09/02, SOC-129, En, Es) See also Social Development
Some Indirect Evidence of the Regressive Nature of Public Spending in Health
In 1987, poor families in Brazil were spending a proportionately much larger share of the household budget on health than were higher-income families. In response to this inequity, Brazil?s 1988 Constitution mandated universal health care and free access to health care services for all Brazilian citizens. In 1996 a new household budgets survey was conducted and produced the data need to determine whether the mandated universal coverage had effectively reduced the disparity between the percentages of household budget that the lower-income families were putting toward health care. The analysis contained in this document is based on the survey?s results, and compares the structure of family health spending between 1987 and 1996. From there it infers the impact that universal and free access health care has had on what Brazilian families in the different income groups spend on health care.
Although the analysis found that the measures taken did not narrow the disparity between what poor and the more affluent families were spending on health care, it does have important lessons that will be helpful when crafting future health policies. Public spending on health has to be targeted at lower-income groups, so that the most needy families do not have to spend more and more of the household budget on health care.
Last updated: 05/08/07
