Primary health care financing changes in the Brazilian healtsystem: Advance ou setback?

Abstract

In 2019, the Brazilian government launched a new Primary Health Care (PHC) policy for the Unified Health System (SUS). Called “PrevineBrasil”, the policy changed the PHC funding for municipalities. Instead of inhabitants and Family Health Strategy (ESF) teams, intergovernmental transfers are calculated from the number of people registered in PHC services and the results achieved in a selected group of indicators. The changes will have a set of impacts for the SUS and the health of the population, which must be observed and monitored. In this paper, possible effects of the new policy are discussed from a brief context analysis of global trends in health systems financing and health services’ remuneration models, as well as on the advances, challenges, and threats to PHC and the SUS. Based on the analysis, the new policy seems to have a restrictive purpose, which should limit universality, increase distortions in financing and induce the focus of PHC actions on the SUS, contributing to the reversal of historic achievements in reducing health inequalities in Brazil.