• Carlos Octávio Ocké-Reis and Theodore R Marmor.
• IPEA-Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazilian Applied Economic Research Institute), Brazil. carlos.octavio@ipea.gov.br
• Int J Health Plann Manage. 2010 Oct 1; 25 (4): 318-29.

AbstractIn 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.

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