The Brazilian health system is comprised of a complex and interconnected mix of public-private service providers and purchasers. The system provides healthcare through three sub-sectors: 1) the public – Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS) – in which services are financed and provided by the state at the three levels of governance (federal, state, and municipal); 2) the private (for-profit and non-profit) in which services are funded by public and private funds; and 3) the private health insurance sub-sector. People may use services in any of these sub-sectors according to their ability to access and pay for them (Paim et al., 2011).

References:

Paim, J., Travassos, C., Almeida, C., Bahia, L., & Macinko, J. (2011). The Brazilian health system: History, advances, and challenges. The Lancet, 377(9779), 1778–1797. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60054-8