The action of the Workers’ Party in the management of the Ministry of Health: Strategic Agendas aimed at guaranteeing the right to health and the defense of the SUS

Abstract

The administrations’ petistas in the federal government (2003-16) produced a series of structural changes in the construction of the SUS in Brazil. Policies that sought the universalization and reduction of system inequities were implemented and today are part of the daily life of the Brazilian population. SAMU, Farmácia Popular, Mais Médicos, expansion of the substitute network in mental health, PDPs, strengthening of PNI and SNT, had great positive repercussion on health indicators such as the fall in infant and maternal mortality, increased life expectancy and others. However, structural problems persisted in the process of implementing the SUS. We highlight three: financing, which, despite growing throughout the period, did not vary as a proportion of GDP, the management models of the units, where no alternatives were built to face the avalanche of growth of models outside the public management and part of specialized care networks.