Os mercados fazem bem à saúde? O caso do acesso aos cuidados

Abstract

The current crisis, affecting European Union countries in particular, has extended the scope for the promotion of healthcare policies inspired by neoliberal thinking, which postulates submitting this sector to market principles, the privatisation of management and provision of healthcare services, and the principle of the paying user, associated with the principle of welfare for those who cannot pay for such services. This allegedly ensures that the health system is more efficient and sustainable and conforms more to the imperative of budgetary discipline. The justification for what is presented as a reform necessary for the actual survival of public healthcare systems based on solidarity, redistribution and the guarantee of equal access to healthcare for all citizens, is associated with reducing the political options that form the basis of healthcare models to a technical issue, and ignoring the effects, observed in comparative studies, of different healthcare models on the health of populations.

Keywords

• healthcare access
• health policies
• public health
• the right to health