The integration of the private initiative to the Brazilian public health system: limits and possibilities

Abstract

 The objective of this study is to analyze the limits and possibilities of action of the private initiative within the Brazilian public health system. Initially, the “Sistema Único de Saúde” (SUS) will be analyzed as a public structure for the realization of the right to health in Brazil, especially its directives, namely: (i) decentralization; (ii) integral care; and (iii) community participation. Also will be analyzed the legal provisions that authorize the complementary participation in SUS. Finally, the models of adjustment and the procedures to be followed will be presented for the aforementioned coexistence between public providers and private providers, with the presentation of legal forms of private sector participation in the SUS, under a critical perspective. The conclusion reached is that the public-private relationship in the health area requires a state that transcends subsidiarity, in order to ensure compliance with constitutional prescriptions, including social justice, the emancipation of the individual and the end of inequalities. The methodology used is the logical-deductive one, based on a qualitative and exploratory research about the participation of the private initiative in the SUS, with normative and bibliographic review on the subject.