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Cesar G Victora,
Mauricio L Barreto,
Maria do Carmo Leal,
Carlos A Monteiro,
Maria Ines Schmidt,
Jairnilson Paim,
Francisco I Bastos,
Celia Almeida, Ligia Bahia,
Claudia Travassos,
Michael Reichenheim,
Fernando C Barros
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ABSTRACT: Brazil is a large complex country that is undergoing rapid economic, social, and environmental change. In this Series of six articles, we have reported important improvements in health status and life expectancy, which can be ascribed largely to progress in social determinants of health and to implementation of a comprehensive national health system with strong social participation. Many challenges remain, however. Socioeconomic and regional disparities are still unacceptably large, reflecting the fact that much progress is still needed to improve basic living conditions for a large proportion of the population. New health problems arise as a result of urbanisation and social and environmental change, and some old health issues remain unabated. Administration of a complex, decentralised public-health system, in which a large share of services is contracted out to the private sector, together with many private insurance providers, inevitably causes conflict and contradiction. The challenge is ultimately political, and we conclude with a call for action that requires continuous engagement by Brazilian society as a whole in securing the right to health for all Brazilian people.
The Lancet 06/2011; 377(9782):2042-53. · 38.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Brazil is a country of continental dimensions with widespread regional and social inequalities. In this report, we examine the historical development and components of the Brazilian health system, focusing on the reform process during the past 40 years, including the creation of the Unified Health System. A defining characteristic of the contemporary health sector reform in Brazil is that it was driven by civil society rather than by governments, political parties, or international organisations. The advent of the Unified Health System increased access to health care for a substantial proportion of the Brazilian population, at a time when the system was becoming increasingly privatised. Much is still to be done if universal health care is to be achieved. Over the past 20 years, there have been other advances, including investments in human resources, science and technology, and primary care, and a substantial decentralisation process, widespread social participation, and growing public awareness of a right to health care. If the Brazilian health system is to overcome the challenges with which it is presently faced, strengthened political support is needed so that financing can be restructured and the roles of both the public and private sector can be redefined.
The Lancet 05/2011; 377(9779):1778-97. · 38.28 Impact Factor
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Cadernos de saúde pública / Ministério da Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública 02/2011; 27(2):204-5. · 0.83 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Consumer complaints against private health insurance plans and companies in Brazil have become increasingly frequent in the country's 'supplementary' (non-public) health care sector, with numerous cases reaching the courts. The problem raised the need for regulation of this private market, which began in 1998, through Law no. 9.656. One of the challenges faced by the National Agency for Supplementary Health Care (ANS) is resistance to the legislation by health insurance companies, besides the fact that there are still some contracts not covered by this law. The objective of the current study was to analyze health insurance policyholders' appeals against court rulings for or against injunctions concerning coverage, in cases heard by the courts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The main data investigated were: court issuing the ruling; defendant; basis for the case; ruling by the Circuit Court and Court of Appeals; and the legal arguments. Based on the findings, the Brazilian court system still plays an important role in hearing and ruling on complaints by health insurance policyholders. The ANS has an important role in filling some gaps that have still not been solved in regulating the health insurance industry.
Cadernos de saúde pública / Ministério da Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública 03/2009; 25(2):279-90. · 0.83 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Este artigo apresenta uma investigação preliminar da presença da seleção adversa e do risco moral (moral hazard) na demanda ativa por planos de saúde no Brasil, a partir dos dados da PNAD/98. O presente estudo compara indivíduos cujas coberturas decorrem do vínculo de trabalho, com aqueles cujos planos resultam de uma demanda individual às empresas que os comercializam e os que não têm acesso a esquemas assistenciais alternativos ao SUS. A elaboração de uma tipologia de planos de saúde, combinada com variáveis relacionadas com as condições de saúde, utilização de serviços e gastos com saúde, sugere a existência de falhas de mercado. A percepção de uma condição de saúde mais desfavorável parece estar associada à busca de cobertura e o tipo de cobertura com o maior uso de serviços de saúde. Quando analisadas através de dois modelos de regressão logística com múltiplos controles, onde a variável de desfecho é indicadora de seleção adversa ou moral hazard, essas diferenças se atenuam, com exceção dos gastos com saúde. Os resultados não evidenciam uma inquestionável assimetria de informações, mas sinalizam a necessidade de aprofundar o conhecimento sobre as relações entre morbidade, utilização de serviços de saúde, gastos com saúde e tipo de cobertura.
Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. 01/2002;
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Ligia Bahia
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ABSTRACT: Este trabalho examina interfaces pública-privadas do mercado de planos e seguros no Brasil, procurando questionar as relações de autonomia e dependência das empresas de assistência médica suplementar com o SUS e alguns dos pressupostos que orientam o processo de regulação governamental. A análise desse mercado se apóia em referenciais extraídos da literatura e sobre informações provenientes de fontes oficiais, empresas de consultoria, dados de empresas de planos e seguros e depoimentos de seus dirigentes. Sugere-se a necessidade de ampliar a agenda de debates e pesquisas sobre o mosaico público-privado que estrutura o sistema de saúde brasileiro.
Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. 01/2001;
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Ligia Bahia
Ciencia & saude coletiva 13(4):1112-4; discussion 1117.
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Ligia Bahia
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ABSTRACT: Trailing the whole group of trends and changes in the scenario of relations between the public and the private, this article analyses the effects of the rise in the rates of return of health plan operators and health insurance companies in 2007. Special attention is given to the segmentation of the system, the complaints about the naturalization of inequitable access to health services and to the depreciation of the original concepts of the Unified Health System. The study also gathers information regarding the production of knowledge about supplementary care with the intent to systemize the bases and methodological approaches adopted by a selected sub-group of scientific papers. Finally, the article develops conjectures and hypotheses with regard to possible associations between growth and stability of the health plan and insurance market and as refers to the nature of scientific production about this issue, taking into consideration the contradictions between the political and economical circuit in which the health plan and insurance companies are operating and the universality of the Brazilian Health System.
Ciencia & saude coletiva 13(5):1385-97.
