A gestão estadual do SUS em Minas Gerais e seu efeito na regionalização e em alguns resultados de saúde da população

Abstract

This study discusses the state level government management of Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) on inequalities in health, analyzing the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Decentralization of health services, in the context of Brazilian federalism promoted the inflow of financial resources in all municipalities, allowing the incorporation of citizens from all regions of the country to the health services system. At the same time, the powdering of resources ensured the continuation of historic inequalities to access to health services of greater complexity. This situation requires the intervention at the state level government to be changed. This is the theme of this study, which examined the process of regionalization of health care services in the period 2002 to 2009, under the coordination of state level government management of SUS in Minas Gerais State, considering the Brazilian federative context, in which municipalities are autonomous entities. The secondary aims were: to describe the process of regionalization proposed by state level government to achieve the improvement of public services and the reduction of regional inequalities; check the extension of the implementation of regionalization concerning the expense of state government resources targeted at municipalities and the deployment of Micro-regional and Macro-regional Intergovernmental Commissions (Comissões Intergestores Bipartites); and to evaluate the effect of regionalization in the network of services, and in reducing regional inequalities related to financial resources, access to services and in some health conditions of the population, considered susceptible to regionalization. The literature on federalism, decentralization and intergovernmental relations and official documents were reviewed; secondary data on resources and indicators of health and development were used. It is noted that the process was made viable by intensified intergovernmental relations between State level Government and municipalities, by a consistent proposal and by allocation of financial resources for the latter. It was also noted that, in the analyzed period, access to Intensive Care Unit and mammograms was widened, that there was deconcentration of financial resources and equipments towards more deprived Micro and Macro-regions, that State governments resources directed federal spending, and that the inequalities between the micro-regions concerning socioeconomic indicators, state and federal governments' financial resources and access to mammograms and cardiovascular diseases mortality were reduced.