Public and Private Health Insurance in Brazil and European Union Countries

Abstract

The following article is a recent bibliographic review of supplementary healthcare policies in Brazil and EU. The main focus is analyzing healthcare policies for the private sector in Brazil, within the context of Brazil's Unified National Health System (SUS), with the profile of the private sector in European Union countries, which have long had public systems integrated with social security. Our work is based on research conducted in the second decade of the 21st century. It is our understanding that comparing positions and progress made by the private sector, the growth of private and copayment health insurance and consequently the shrinking of public healthcare systems allows us to better understand the reach and meaning of those changes. We will initially analyze healthcare policies of Europe's private sector. Then we will discuss the supplementary healthcare system in Brazil, which is the main goal of this paper. Finally, we will compare cases according to progress and delays in private and public healthcare systems.

The National Health Services of Brazil and Northern Europe: Universality, Equity, and Integrality—Time Has Come for the Latter

“…The public administrative system, with its focus on primary care, is not really involved in the quality and development of the secondary and tertiary care, which is mainly contracted out to private hospitals. 23 It is taken for granted that access to secondary and tertiary levels of care flows naturally within the SUS, but a public hospital bed might often be hired out by the SUS to a patient with private insurance. The absence of control and evaluation of the interface between public and private services is therefore a growing problem with implications both for efficiency and equity.…”

Nejednakosti u korišćenju usluga doktora porodične medicine i doktora specijaliste u Republici Srpskoj

“…U brazilskoj studiji procenat korišćenja uslu-ga vanbolničke zdravstvene zaštite varira sa samoprocjenom zdravstvenog stanja, od 59,2% među onima čije je zdravlje dobro do 71,6% među onima čije je zdravlje loše [23]. Treba napomenuti da se u Brazilu pod vanbolničkom zaštitom podrazumijeva korišćenje usluga privatnog i javnog sektora finansiranog iz javnih izvora [24], dok je u Republici Srpskoj korišćenje usluga javnog sektora organizovano u obliku grupne prakse u Domovima zdravlja [11].…”

Do elections matter for private-sector healthcare management in Brazil? An analysis of municipal health policy

“…Between 2006 and 2012, the total quantity of privately managed and maintained equipment in the SUS nationwide increased by approximately 88%, while publicly managed equipment grew by only about 51% [ 11 ]. In the decentralized configuration of the SUS, municipal governments have substantial latitude in financial and administrative decisions, and can decide to initiate and maintain contracts with the private sector in health care delivery and administration [ 5 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Between 2006 and 2010, the number of public outpatient facilities in Brazil plateaued, while private facilities continued to grow [ 10 ]. The faster growth of private facilities is noteworthy because although the majority of SUS-financed inpatient care takes place in private hospitals, most private, for-profit outpatient clinics are for exclusive use of private plan holders [ 12 ]. Due to geographic socioeconomic inequalities in Brazil, the need for public facilities is greater in rural areas and in the Northeast region, where the proportion of individuals holding private plans is much lower [ 18 ].…”