title: The Brazilian national health system: an unfulfilled promise?
abstract: In 1988, Brazil became one of the first countries in Latin America to frame access to health care as a constitutional right. However, it would be misleading to call Brazil's Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, or SUS) a public health system that provides universal access and comprehensive care. This paper reveals a strong contradiction between the re-distribution model set out in the Brazilian Constitution and the inadequate level of public spending on health care. The law states that health care is a basic social right, allocated by need rather than means. Meanwhile, in 2003, Brazil spent US$ 597 per capita on health, or 7.6 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), while the average country from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) spent US$ 3145, or 10.8 per cent, and Argentina spent US$ 1067, or 8.9 per cent of its GDP.
authors.affiliation: IPEA-Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazilian Applied Economic Research Institute), Brazil. carlos.octavio@ipea.gov.br
authors.forename: Carlos Octávio
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Ocké-Reis
authors.forename: Theodore R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Marmor
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D005380:Financing, Government; D018166:Health Care Reform; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011057:Politics