Study points to a deficit of R$ 331 million transferred by the Union to health in Rio Grande do Sul

According to the study, which had previously been presented to the Vice President of Brazil, Geraldo Alckmin, Rio Grande do Sul had an expenditure of BRL 331 million in 2022. The amount does not include the resources transferred by the Ministry of Health to the financing from the Unified Health System (SUS).

In 183 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, the ceiling for medium and high complexity procedures was not enough to cover expenses with serving the population. The biggest deficit registered was R$ 34 million, in Caxias do Sul, followed by Santa Cruz do Sul (R$ 8.6 million) and Carazinho (R$ 7.2 million).

Economist César Lima explains that the deficit situation is due to a confluence of factors. “We have a SUS procedure table, which is how it pays for services provided by both public and private entities. This table has been occasionally updated for more specific procedures, such as heart surgery. Another factor was the decision of the TCU, which forced the Ministry of Health to return the levels of the medium-high complexity ceiling and the primary care floor to the same levels as in 2019”, he explains.

Lima points out that during the pandemic there was an inflationary process in terms of medicines, equipment and health material. Thus, services became more expensive and the resource capacity of the municipalities decreased, which generated this deficit. For the economist, the trend is for the situation to deteriorate over time.

According to Lima, the Federal Court of Accounts should reassess. “Because just as some services today are much more pressured, their demand is much greater. Even for the post-covid syndrome ”, he says.

During the presentation of the study, the SES Specialized Care Management Department (DGAE) team also highlighted the need for clearer criteria in the distribution of MAC Roof resources to states and municipalities. “We all know what we want, which is to provide services to the population. But we need equalization of payments, since today we can barely do the basics with the resources we have”, pointed out DGAE director Lisiane Fagundes.

A report by the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), in 2019, already pointed out the problem, noting that, even when there is an increase in procedures performed, there is often no increase in resources. And that, when there are fewer services, there is no drop in transfers. Likewise, transfers do not decrease when there is a reduction in services.