Brazil's Mixed Public and Private Hospital System

Brazil's hospital sector is vibrant and growing. Under the 1988 Brazilian constitution all citizens have the right to health care, anticipating the global commitment to Universal Health Care. Brazil's public sector prides itself on having one of the world's largest single payer health care systems, but complementing that is a significant and larger private sector that is seeing big increase in investment, utilization and prices. This article outlines the structure of the hospital system and analyzes the nature and direction of private health sector expansion. Twenty-six percent of Brazilians have private health insurance and although coverage is concentrated in the urban areas of the Southeastern part of the country, it is growing across the nation. The disease burden shift to chronic diseases affects the nature of demand and the directly affects overall health care costs, which are rising rapidly outstripping national inflation by a factor of 3. Increasingly costs will have to be brought under control to maintain the viability of the private sector. Adaption of integrated care networks and strengthening of the public reimbursement system represent important areas for improvement.