Financing Health Policies in Brazil
By André Medici (01/03, En, Es) See also Social Development
Achievements, Challenges and Proposals
Since the constitutional reform of 1988, the Brazilian government has been introducing changes in the health sector structure. Known as the ?Brazilian Sanitary Reform,? the new measures were implemented in a way that completely opposed that of mainstream health reforms in other Latin American countries, such as Chile and Colombia.
While health reforms in other Latin American countries were implemented in a single legal framework that attacked the structured interests of providers, doctors and social groups, the Brazilian reform adopted a gradualist approach, trying to blend in stakeholders? interests and avoiding the rise of social conflicts.
This article tries to assess the decentralization process of the Brazilian health sector, evaluating the principal measures used by the government to address financing and equity issues in the composition and distribution of the expenditures. Based on this analysis, it describes some of the problems that still persist in relation to the public financing of health services in Brazil, pointing out some of the possible solutions.
This working paper is being published with the sole objective of contributing to the debate on a topic of importance to the region, and to elicit comments and suggestions from interested parties. This paper has not gone through the Department's peer review process or undergone consideration by the SDS Management Team. As such, it does not reflect the official position of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Last updated: 05/08/07
