[Equity and geographic distribution of financial resources in health systems].
This study focuses on equity in health and specifically the geographic distribution of financial resources. The author reviews the main contemporary theories of social justice and discusses the concept of equity in general and specifically in the health field. Based on the discussion of selected international experiences (United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy), the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) formula used in the United Kingdom is identified as the most adequate distributive methodology, sizing the relative needs based on the population's demographic and epidemiological profiles. Finally, the results are presented from a simulation performed for the Brazilian case, showing that a more equitable geographic distribution of financial resources would require a redistribution favoring the States of the North and Northeast. The article concludes by highlighting that a comparison of actual fund outlays by the Ministry of Health in 1994 and the results of the simulation with the RAWP methodology for the Brazilian case show that the principles written into Brazilian legislation were absent from the geographic distribution of financial resources.
Departamento de Administração e Planejamento em Saúde, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brasil. sporto@ensp.fiocruz.br
Silvia Marta
SM
Porto
D001938:Brazil; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom