Supplementary Health System in Brazil: Business Model Not Threatened by Socioeconomic Crisis

Abstract


 
 
 
 Objective: The performance of the supplementary health system (SSS) in Brazil depends on the country's ability to generate employment and income. Yet, on the other hand, even in the face of the economic crises that have hit Brazil in recent years and, more sharply, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the SSS ended 2021 with continuous growth in the number of beneficiaries. This perspective suggests possible causes to explain this contradiction while questioning the role of the State in providing a constitutional right for Brazilians.
  
 Theoretical framework: Brazilian health system can be divided into three segments: a public segment financed by the State (Unified Health System, SUS), a private segment, and a supplementary health segment, the latter two with public and private funding. The Supplementary Health System (SSS) represents a highly regulated area.
  
 Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of this work followed the rigor and steps to develop a current perspective on supplementary health in Brazil. Insights from this perspective shed light on the subject of supplementary health by providing insight into existing issues, concepts and prevailing notions about health systems.
  
 Findings: The healthcare system in Brazil is complex and combines market elements of public and social interest in a single environment. In this way, the question remains whether business models geared to the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) community have focused exclusively on making a profit by “selling to the poor” or whether they have brought a valuable commitment to social development in the country.
  
 Research, Practical & Social implications: This question deserves attention due to the de-prioritization of health on the political agenda in an election year and the critical post-Covid-19 pandemic situation. Social policies in Brazil need to go beyond guaranteeing access to credit compensating for the lack of public provision, at the risk of mortgaging the SUS as a sign of modernity and progress.
  
 Originality/value: This perspective suggests possible causes to explain this contradiction while questioning the role of the State in providing a constitutional right for Brazilians.