Congress set to vote more funds for Health (Amendment 29) without new revenue to pay for it

President Dilma Rousseff called it a “Greek present,” and said she did not want it. She and the country are about to get it.

Congress has set a date, September 28, to vote for appropriate
legislation (“regulamentação”) of a constitutional amendment (Amendment
29 – “emenda 29”), which will set a mandatory percentage of revenue that
the federal government, states and municipalities will have to spend on
health. It will mean an increase in spending on health care provided by
the state in Brazil.

In a radio interview, president Dilma declared that more money for
health had to have specific funding sources. “I do not want to be given a
Greek present. I would really like to guarantee quality health services
for our people, but I must know where all the money to pay for it will
come from. This is not a good time, in the middle of an international
financial crisis, to approve more spending without saying exactly how it
will be paid for.”

According to the leader of the PT in the Chamber of Deputies, Paulo
Teixeira, the idea is to approve a basic text and deal with the details
of funding later in negotiations with political parties and society. “We
must find a just source of funding that does not overload society,”
said Teixeira.

One idea is to tax exactly those activities that overload the health system: smoking, drinking and driving.

“Cigarettes and alcohol aggravate health problems. Cars are responsible
for accidents,” Paulo Teixeira pointed out. He also raised the
possibility of a tax on the rich. “There is a school of thought around
the world that people with more money should pay more taxes,” he said.

Another source of new revenue to pay for higher health costs that has
been aired is gambling. However, high-ranking members of the
administration have voiced opposition to that idea. “The government is
not happy with legalizing gambling. We just do not think it is a healthy
idea to tax gambling in order to pay for health care,” declared
Gilberto Carvalho, the president’s top administrative aide
(“ministro-chefe da Secretaria-Geral da Presidência da República”). As
for the creation of a new tax similar to the old “CPMF,” a tax on
financial transactions, Carvalho said the administration was treating
the matter of funding with great care, but did not have a set position
on the matter at this time.

President Dilma has repeatedly said that better health care for the
population was one of her campaign promises and that she intends to make
good on the promise. But, she points out, Amendment 29 is not going to
be a panacea for the sector. “Quality in health care calls for big
investments, you have to invest in hospitals and doctors, for example,”
she said.