The author has the intention to propose to the Brazilian health care management and sanitary reform managers an examination and positioning on the course of action in the implementation of SUS (Brazilian National Health System). The findings underscore two non-convergent set of policies that have affected the course of action in the implementation of the SUS in the 1990s: the first and 'main' course of action derives from policies created in 1988 in the so-called Citizen Constitution, of which the SUS is the most important achievement. The second and "additional" course of action derives from the prevailing macro-economic model and its related policies, implemented since the 1990s, besides advocating a social inclusion measure while leaving out all the related improvements of SUS such as Universality, Integrity and Equity. In addition, the second course of action is in opposition to the model based on social protection, besides raising the importance of market-based individualistic values and actions in general, it carries them into the health care system. The author suggests that a clarification on the desirable and on the deviant courses of action of SUS may be a vital contribution to guaranteeing social rights in health care, while preserving its integrity, equity and universal nature.
Health as a social right; Health policy; Public and private; Public policy implementation