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BACKGROUND: Colombia, which hosts over 3 million of the Venezuelan diaspora, is lauded for its progressive approach to social integration, including providing migrants access to its universal health coverage system. However, barriers to healthcare persist for both migrant and host populations, with poorly understood disparities in healthcare-seeking behaviors and associated costs. This is the first study to link healthcare-seeking behaviors with costs for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, encompassing costs of missing work or usual activities due to healthcare events. METHODS: We use self-reported survey data from Venezuelan migrants and Colombians living in Colombia (September-November 2020) to compare healthcare-seeking behaviors and cost variables by nationality using two-sampled t-tests or Chi-square tests (X2). The International Classification of Diseases was used to compare reported household illnesses for both populations. Average health service direct costs were estimated using the Colombian Government's Suficiencia database and self-reported out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for laboratory and pharmacy services. Indirect costs were calculated by multiplying self-reported days of missed work or usual activities with estimated income levels, derived by matching characteristics using the Gran Enquesta Integrada de Hogares database. We calculate economic burdens for both populations, combining self-reported healthcare-seeking behaviors and estimated healthcare service unit costs across six healthcare-seeking behavior categories. RESULTS: Despite similar disease profiles, Venezuelan migrants are 21.3% more likely to forego formal care than Colombians, with 746.3% more Venezuelans reporting lack of health insurance as their primary reason. Venezuelan women and uninsured report the greatest difficulties in accessing health services, with accessing medications becoming more difficult for Venezuelan women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Colombians cost the health system more per treated illness event (US$40) than Venezuelans (US$26) in our sample, over a thirty-day period. Venezuelans incur higher costs for emergency department visits (123.5% more) and laboratory/ pharmacy OOP payments (24.7% more). CONCLUSIONS: While Colombians and Venezuelans share similar disease burdens, significant differences exist in access, cost, and health-seeking behaviors. Increasing Venezuelan health insurance enrollment and tackling accessibility barriers are crucial for ensuring healthcare equity and effectively integrating the migrant population. Findings suggest that improving migrant access to primary healthcare would produce savings in Colombian healthcare expenditures.

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BACKGROUND: After the establishment of the public health emergency of international concern in 2020, health systems worldwide and in Brazil observed the need to apply more extraordinary logistical efforts and possibly resources to combat the imminent pandemic. METHODS: Using the historical series of public expenditures of the National Health Fund (FNS), 2015 to 2021, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, and a seasonal ARIMAX model, we sought to assess how the increase in the new virus infections affected the systematic financing of the SUS in Brazil. RESULTS: There were signs of seasonality and an increasing trend in the expenditure variable, which in practical terms, only indicated that the resource contributions followed an increasing trajectory already underway before the advent of the pandemic. The 1% increase in COVID-19 cases, with a one-month lag, contributes to the 0.062% increase in the variation in FNS expenditures but a decrease of 0.058% with a two-month lag. CONCLUSION: The tests showed no evidence to confirm a positive shift on FNS spending growth trajectory due to the increase of COVID-19 cases, only observing a significant increase one month after the occurrence of COVID cases, probably due to their worsening after this period, which was followed by a similar and comparable decrease in percentage of growth in the following month.

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Colombia is among the countries with the most robust financial protection against personal health spending in the world, with out-of-pocket spending ranking lowest across OECD countries. We investigate the evolution, distribution, and persistence of health spending by age group, sex, health care setting, health condition and geographic region for over 19 million users of Colombia's health system between 2013 and 2021 (contributory scheme). We use average patient-level expenditure data from the Health-Promoting Entities of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. We applied multivariate statistical techniques such as multiple correspondence analysis, factor maps and correlations. For both sexes, average health expenditure increases gradually with age until 60 years, accelerating thereafter abruptly. Health conditions with the highest percentage of expenditure were those related to neoplasms, blood diseases, circulatory system, pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal period. We found that home-based care in Amazonía-Orinoquía is almost non-existent, and that outpatient care represents a high proportion in all age groups (over 65%) compared to the other regions. There is a strong persistence of expenditure from one year to the next (i.e. they can provide relevant information for prediction), especially in areas with a larger supply of health services such as Bogotá-Cundinamarca. To the authors' knowledge, this is the most comprehensive and detailed micro-analysis of health spending that has been developed for a Latin American country to date.

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OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of the fiscal austerity policy (PAF) on health spending in Brazilian municipalities, considering population size and source of funds. METHODS: The interrupted time series method was used to analyze the effect of the PAF on total expenditure, resources transferred by the Federal Government, and own/state per capita resources allocated to health in the municipalities. The time series analyzed covered the period from 2010 to 2019, every six months. The first semester of 2015 was adopted as the start date of the intervention. The municipalities were grouped into small (up to 100,000 inhabitants), medium (101,000 to 400,000 inhabitants), and large (over 400,000 inhabitants). The data was obtained from the Sistema de Informações sobre Orçamentos Públicos em Saúde (Information System on Public Health Budget). RESULTS: The results for the national average of municipalities show that the PAF had a negative impact on the level of total expenditure and own/state resources allocated to health in the first half of 2015, without causing statically significant changes in the trends of any of the indicators analyzed in the period after 2015. Small municipalities saw a drop in total expenditure, while large municipalities saw a drop in own/state resources, and medium-sized municipalities saw a drop in both variables. There was no statistically significant drop in the volume of funds transferred by the Federal Government in the immediate aftermath of the implementation of the PAF in any of the municipal groups analyzed. In the medium-term, the PAF only had a negative impact on the large municipalities, which saw significant reductions in the trends of own/state resources and those transferred by the Union for health. CONCLUSION: In general, the impact of the PAF on health financing in municipalities was immediate and based on the decrease in own/state resources allocated to health. In large municipalities, however, the impact lasted from 2015 to 2019, mainly affecting health expenditure from federal funds.

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The rise in obesity and related chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) during recent decades in Brazil has been associated with increases in the financial burden and risk of impoverishment due to out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure. Thus, this study investigated trends and predictors associated with impoverishment due to health expenditure, in the population of São Paulo city, Brazil, between 2003 and 2015. Household data from the São Paulo Health Survey (n = 5475) were used to estimate impoverishment linked to OOP health expenses, using the three thresholds of International Poverty Lines (IPLs) defined by the World Bank at 1.90, 3.20, and 5.50 dollars per capita per day purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2011. The results indicated a high incidence of impoverishment due to OOP disbursements for health care throughout the period, predominantly concentrated among low-income individuals. Lifestyle choices referring to leisure-time physical activity (OR = 0.766 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 0.789 at $5.50 IPL) were linked to reduction in the risk for impoverishment due to OOP health expenditures whilst there were increases in the probability of impoverishment due to cardiometabolic risk factors referring to obesity (OR = 1.588 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 1.633 at $5.50 IPL), and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (OR = 2.268 at $1.90 IPL, OR = 1.967 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 1.936 at $5.50 IPL). Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus was associated with an increase in the probability of impoverishment at only the $1.90 IPL (OR = 2.506), whilst coefficients for high blood pressure presented lack of significance in the models. Health policies should focus on interventions for prevention of obesity to ensure the financial protection of the population in São Paulo city, Brazil, especially targeting modifiable lifestyle choices like promotion of physical activity and reduction of tobacco use.

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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the changes in the health expenditure of households in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic to approximate changes in healthcare that can lead to difficulties in detecting noncommunicable diseases, among others. METHODS: We compare health spending before and after the pandemic through various estimators using multivariate linear regression models at the household level. We also explore heterogeneous effects by zone, sex, and household composition by age. We explore potential mechanisms of change estimating probit models of healthcare. We use microdata from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018 and COVID-19. RESULTS: The results suggest a significant reduction in health spending, mainly referring to oral health, clinical analysis, and medical studies. Moreover, differences arise by type of area and household age profile. Changes are more significant among families with children younger than 12 years and households situated in urban areas. Regarding the mechanisms, the results suggest that the lower spending is not due to fewer health needs but rather due to less healthcare attention. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant and heterogeneous impact on household health spending. This lower spending could lead to less detection of noncommunicable diseases, translating into more pressure on the health system in the medium and long term.

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BACKGROUND: The costs associated with healthcare are of critical importance to both decision-makers and users, given the limited resources allocated to the health sector. However, the available scientific evidence on healthcare costs in low- and middle-income countries, such as Peru, is scarce. In the Peruvian context, the health system is fragmented, and the private health insurance and its financing models have received less research attention. We aimed to analyse user cost-sharing and associated factors within the private healthcare system. METHODS: Our study was cross-sectional, using open data from the Electronic Transaction Model of Standardized Billing Data-TEDEF-SUSALUD, between 2021-2022. Our unit of analysis is the user's medical bills. We considered the total amount of cost-sharing, proportion of total payments as cost-sharing, and cost-sharing as a proportion of minimum salaries. We use a multiple regression model to perform the analyses. RESULTS: Our study included 5,286,556 health services provided to users of the private health insurance in Peru. We found a significant difference was observed in the cost-sharing for hospitalization-related services, with an average of 419.64 soles per day (95% CI: 413.44 to 425.85). Also, we identified that for hospitalization-related services per day is, on average, 0.41 (95% CI: 0.41 to 0.41) minimum salaries more expensive than outpatient care, although cost-sharing per day of hospitalization represent on average only 14% of the total amount submitted. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a detailed overview of cost-sharing in the private healthcare system in Peru and the factors associated with them. Policymakers can use the study's finding that higher cost-sharing for inpatient hospitalization compared to outpatient care in private insurance can create inequities in access to healthcare to design policies aimed at reducing these costs and promoting a more equitable and accessible healthcare system in Peru.

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BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes has economic implications involving family income and out-of-pocket spending. OBJECTIVE: Determine family out-of-pocket expenditure for type 2 diabetes mellitus care and percentage of family income. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study of family out-of-pocket spending in families with patients with type 2 diabetes treated at primary care level. Out-of-pocket expenses included expenses for transportation, food-drinks, and external medications. Family income corresponded to the total economic income contributed by family members. The percentage of out-of-pocket spending in relation to family income was identified with the relationship between these two variables. Statistical analysis included averages and percentages. RESULTS: The annual family out-of-pocket expenditure on transportation was $2,621.24, the family out-of-pocket expenditure on food and beverages was $1,075.67, and the family out-of-pocket expenditure on external medications was $722.08. The total annual family out-of-pocket expense was $4,418.89 and corresponds to 4.73% of family income. CONCLUSION: The family out-of-pocket expense in the family with a patient with diabetes mellitus 2 was $4,418.89 and represents 4.73% of the family income.

ANTECEDENTES: La diabetes tipo 2 tiene implicaciones económicas en el ingreso familiar y el gasto de bolsillo. OBJETIVO: Determinar el gasto de bolsillo familiar en la atención de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y el porcentaje que representa en el ingreso familiar. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Estudio de gasto de bolsillo de las familias con pacientes con diabetes tipo 2 atendidos en el primer nivel de atención. El gasto de bolsillo familiar incluyó gasto en traslado, alimentos-bebidas y medicamentos externos. El ingreso familiar correspondió al total de ingresos económicos aportados por los miembros de la familia. El porcentaje del gasto de bolsillo con relación al ingreso familiar se identificó con la relación entre estas dos variables. El análisis estadístico incluyó promedios y porcentajes. RESULTADOS: El gasto de bolsillo familiar anual en transporte fue de $2621.24, en alimentos y bebidas fue de $1075.67 y en medicamentos externos fue de $722.08. El gasto familiar de bolsillo total anual fue de $4418.89 y correspondió a 4.73 % del ingreso familiar. CONCLUSIÓN: El gasto de bolsillo en las familias con un paciente con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 fue de $4418.89 y representó 4.73 % del ingreso familiar.

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The scope of this paper was to estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity in the city of São Paulo and to verify the factors associated with the utilization of the health services. It involved a population based cross-sectional study based on data from the Health Survey in the city of São Paulo, in which descriptive analysis was conducted, and logistic regression models were developed using multimorbidity and sociodemographic independent variables, living conditions and use of health services as the outcome. A total of 3,184 individuals aged 20 years or older participated, with a mean age of 43.8 years. The prevalence of multimorbidity was 50.7% among women, 62.5% among those who reported some health problem and 55.1% among those who had recourse to health services in the last 2 weeks. A higher prevalence was identified among those who used the health service due to a mental health problem (66.1%), and in those who reported higher health expenditures in the preceding month (55.4%). Multimorbidity was more frequently associated with aging, in the population with a higher economic status, with worse self-rated health, who frequented health services for 6 months or less, who reported a health problem, or who had a health plan and opted for polypharmacy.

O objetivo foi estimar a prevalência de multimorbidade no município de São Paulo e verificar os fatores associados à utilização de serviços de saúde. Estudo transversal de base populacional a partir do Inquérito de Saúde do Município de São Paulo (ISA-Capital 2015), em que foi realizada análise descritiva e foram elaborados modelos de regressão logística utilizando como desfecho a multimorbidade e variáveis independentes sociodemográficas, de condições de vida e utilização de serviços de saúde. Participaram 3.184 indivíduos com 20 anos ou mais, idade média de 43,8 anos. A prevalência de multimorbidade foi de 50,7% entre as mulheres, 62,5% entre os que relataram algum problema de saúde e 55,1% entre os que utilizaram serviços de saúde nas duas últimas semanas. Foi identificada maior prevalência nos indivíduos que usaram serviço de saúde por problema de saúde mental (66,1%) e que informaram maiores despesas com saúde no último mês (55,4%). A multimorbidade foi mais frequente com o envelhecimento, na população com nível econômico mais elevado, com pior autoavaliação de saúde, que utilizou serviços de saúde há seis meses ou menos, que relatou problema de saúde, que tinha plano de saúde e fazia uso da polifarmácia.

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OBJECTIVE: To estimate the economic burden associated with COVID-19 in Córdoba, Colombia, 2020 and 2021. METHODS: Economic burden study. Direct costs were analyzed from the third-party payer perspective using healthcare administrative databases and interviews from a cohort of confirmed COVID-19 cases from Córdoba. Costing aggregation was performed by the bottom-up method. Indirect costs were estimated using the productivity loss approach. Contrast tests and statistical models were estimated at 5% significance. RESULTS: We studied 1,800 COVID-19 cases. The average economic cost of COVID-19 per episode was estimated at US$ 2,519 (95%CI 1,980;3,047). The direct medical cost component accounted for 92.9% of the total; out-of-pocket and indirect costs accounted for 2% and 5.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 economic cost was mainly due to direct medical costs. This study provided evidence of the economic burden faced by households due to COVID-19, with the most vulnerable households bearing much of the burden on their income.

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This article aims to assess the association between household demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in Argentina during 2017-2018. CHE was estimated as the proportion of household consumption capacity (using both income and total consumption in separate estimations) allocated for Out-of-Pocket (OOP) health expenditure. For assessing the determinants, we estimated a generalized ordered logit model using different intensities of CHE (10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) as the ordinal dependent variable, and socioeconomic, demographic and geographical variables as explanatory factors. We found that having members older than 65 years and with long-term difficulties increased the likelihood of incurring CHE. Additionally, having an economically inactive household head was identified as a factor that increases this probability. However, the research did not yield consistent results regarding the relationship between public and private health insurance and consumption capacity. Our results, along with the robustness checks, suggest that the magnitude of the coefficients for the household head characteristics could be exaggerated in studies that overlook the attributes of other household members. In addition, these results emphasize the significance of accounting for long-term difficulties and indicate that omitting this factor could overestimate the impact of members aged over 65.

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This article presents the results of an analysis of the performance of primary health care in São Paulo state over the last decade against a backdrop of financial crisis and health funding cuts. We conducted a time series analysis (2010-2019) of performance indicators across the following dimensions based on an adapted conceptual framework: health service performance, health system, and determinants of health. Annual percentage change was calculated for each indicator using a log-linear model. Performance across the indicators was generally positive; however, there was a decline in performance across indicators of quality of care (congenital syphilis, cesarean section rate and cervical cancer screening). The findings also show a potential rise in demand for public services (due to population aging and a reduction in the percentage of the population with private health insurance) and increase in health expenditure against a backdrop of falling GDP per capita.

O artigo apresenta uma análise do desempenho da APS no estado de São Paulo na última década, em contexto de crise econômica e retração dos investimentos em saúde. Utilizaram-se indicadores de desempenho, determinantes em saúde e sistema de saúde, em série temporal (2010 a 2019), a partir de matriz conceitual adaptada. Foram calculadas variações percentuais anuais (VPA) de cada indicador em modelo log-linear. Os indicadores de desempenho apresentaram, no geral, evolução favorável; no entanto, ocorreu piora em indicadores relacionados à qualidade do cuidado (sífilis congênita, partos cesáreos e rastreamento de câncer de colo uterino). Verificou-se, ainda, um potencial aumento das demandas ao SUS (envelhecimento da população e redução da cobertura da saúde suplementar) e aumento das despesas em saúde em contexto de redução do PIB per capita.

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BACKGROUND: Despite the resources and personnel mobilized in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR, maternal deaths per 100 000 live births) in women aged 10-54 years by 75% between 2000 and 2015, the region failed to meet the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) due to persistent barriers to access quality reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health services. METHODS: Using 1990-2019 data from the Global Burden of Disease project, we carried out a two-stepwise analysis to (a) identify the differences in the MMR temporal patterns and (b) assess its relationship with selected indicators: government health expenditure (GHE), the GHE as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the availability of human resources for health (HRH), the coverage of effective interventions to reduce maternal mortality, and the level of economic development of each country. FINDINGS: In the descriptive analysis, we observed a heterogeneous overall reduction of MMR in the region between 1990 and 2019 and heterogeneous overall increases in the GHE, GHE/GDP, and HRH availability. The correlation analysis showed a close, negative, and dependent association of the economic development level between the MMR and GHE per capita, the percentage of GHE to GDP, the availability of HRH, and the coverage of SBA. We observed the lowest MMRs when GHE as a percentage of GDP was close to 3% or about US$400 GHE per capita, HRH availability of 6 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 inhabitants, and skilled birth attendance levels above 90%. CONCLUSIONS: Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, health policies aimed at the effective reduction of maternal mortality should consider allocating more resources as a necessary but not sufficient condition to achieve the goals and should prioritize the implementation of new forms of care with a gender and rights approach, as well as strengthening actions focused on vulnerable groups.

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In recent decades, policy initiatives involving increases in the tobacco tax have increased pressure on budget allocations in poor households. In this study, we examine this issue in the context of the expansion of the social welfare state that has taken place over the last two decades in several emerging economies. This study explores the case of Colombia between 1997 and 2011. In this period, the budget share of the poorest expenditure quintile devoted to tobacco products of smokers' households doubled. We analyse the differences between the poorest and richest quintiles concerning the changes in budget shares, fixing a reference population over time to avoid demographic composition confounders. We find no evidence of crowding-out of education or healthcare expenditures. This is likely to be the result of free universal access to health insurance and basic education for the poor. For higher-income households, tobacco crowds out expenditures on entertainment, leisure activities, and luxury expenditures. This finding should reassure policymakers who are keen to impose tobacco taxes as an element of their public health policy.

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PURPOSE: Cost containment and efficiency in the provision of health care are primary concerns for health systems that aim to provide affordable, high-quality care. Between 2005 and 2015, Seguro Poplar's Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures (FPGC) funded ALL treatment in Mexico. Before January 1, 2011, FPGC reimbursed a fixed amount per patient according to risk. In 2011, the per capita reimbursement method changed to fee for service. We used this natural experiment to estimate the impact of the reimbursement policy change on average expenditure and quality of care for ALL treatment in Mexico. METHODS: We used nationwide reimbursement data from the Seguro Poplar's FPGC from 2005 to 2015. We created a patient cohort to assess 3-year survival and estimate the average reimbursement before and after the fee-for-service policy. We examined survival and expenditure impacts, controlling for patients' and providers' characteristics, including sex, risk (standard and high), the volume of patients served, type of institution (federally funded v other), and level of care. To quantify the impact, we used a regression discontinuity approach. RESULTS: The average reimbursement for standard-risk patients in the 3-year survival cohort was $16,512 US dollars (USD; 95% CI, 16,042 to 17,032) before 2011 and $10,205 USD (95% CI, 4,659 to 12,541) under the fee-for-service reimbursement scheme after 2011. The average annual reimbursement per patient decreased by 136% among high-risk patients. The reduction was also significant for the standard-risk cohort, although the magnitude was substantially smaller (34%). CONCLUSION: As Mexico's government is currently restructuring the health system, our study provides evidence of the efficiency and effectiveness of the funding mechanism in the Mexican context. It also serves as a proof of concept for using administrative data to evaluate economic performance and quality of care of publicly funded health programs.

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OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer remains a significant global public health challenge and is still one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in Argentina. This study aims to assess the disease and economic burden of lung cancer in the country. STUDY DESIGN: Burden of disease study. METHODS: A mathematical model was developed to estimate the disease burden and direct medical cost attributable to lung cancer. Epidemiological parameters were obtained from local statistics, the Global Cancer Observatory, the Global Burden of Disease databases, and a literature review. Direct medical costs were estimated through micro-costing. Costs were expressed in US dollars (US$), April 2023 (1 US$ = 216.38 Argentine pesos). A second-order Monte Carlo simulation was performed to estimate the uncertainty. RESULTS: Considering approximately 10,000 deaths, 12,000 incident cases, and 14,000 5-year prevalent cases, the economic burden of lung cancer in Argentina in 2023 was estimated to be US$ 556.20 million (396.96-718.20), approximately 1.4% of the total healthcare expenditure for the country. The cost increased with a higher stage of the disease, and the main driver was drug acquisition (80%). A total of 179,046 disability-adjusted life years could be attributable to lung cancer, representing 10% of the total cancer. CONCLUSION: The disease and economic burden of lung cancer in Argentina implies a high cost for the health system and would represent 19% of the previously estimated economic burden for 29 cancers in Argentina.

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Medical imaging is essential for the proper diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. The literature has found that medical imaging generally accounts for a significant percentage of total healthcare spending. We analyzed a national database between 2013 and 2021, with more than 19 million patients on average, to review which health conditions account for the highest spending on medical imaging in the Colombian health system. We segmented the analysis by type of medical imaging, life cycles, health condition and sex. Our findings indicate that cardiac and mental illnesses account for the highest per capita spending on medical imaging, especially for the elderly. As a proportion of total expenditure, hypertension and tuberculosis are added, with special emphasis on the infancy-childhood life cycle.

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This study aims to analyze the effects of the expansion of the federal transfer of parliamentary amendments for municipal financing of primary health care (PHC) in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS), from 2015 to 2020. A longitudinal study was conducted using secondary data on transfers of parliamentary amendments from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and expenditure of municipalities' own resources on public health actions and services and PHC. The effect of the transfer of parliamentary amendments on municipal financing was verified in a stratified way by population size of the municipalities, using generalized estimating equation models. The transfer of parliamentary amendments for PHC showed a large discrepancy in per capita values among municipalities of different population sizes. No correlation with municipal spending on public health actions and services was observed in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, and the association with spending on PHC (p < 0.050) was inverse in all municipalities. Therefore, the increase in the transfer of parliamentary amendments by the Brazilian Ministry of Health favored a reduction in the allocation of municipal revenues to PHC, which may have been directed to other spending purposes in the SUS. These changes seem to represent priorities established for municipal budget expenditure, which have repercussions on local conditions for guaranteeing stable funding for PHC in Brazil.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar os efeitos da ampliação do repasse federal de emendas parlamentares no financiamento municipal da atenção primária à saúde (APS) do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), no período de 2015 a 2020. Foi realizado estudo longitudinal com dados secundários de transferências por emendas parlamentares do Ministério da Saúde e de despesas com recursos próprios dos municípios, aplicadas em ações e serviços públicos de saúde e na APS. O efeito do repasse de emendas parlamentares no financiamento municipal foi verificado de forma estratificada por porte populacional dos municípios, por meio de modelos de equações de estimativas generalizadas. O repasse de emendas parlamentares para a APS apresentou grande discrepância de valores per capita entre os municípios de diferentes portes populacionais. Observou-se inexistência de correlação com a despesa municipal em ações e serviços públicos de saúde nos municípios com mais de 10 mil habitantes e associação inversa com a despesa em APS (p < 0,050) em todos os grupos. Conclui-se que o aumento do repasse de emendas parlamentares pelo Ministério da Saúde favoreceu a redução da alocação de receitas municipais com APS, que podem ter sido direcionados para outras finalidades de gasto no SUS. Tais mudanças parecem refletir prioridades estabelecidas para a despesa orçamentária dos municípios, que repercutem sobre as condições locais para a garantia da estabilidade do financiamento da APS no Brasil.

El artículo tiene como objetivo analizar los efectos de la ampliación de la transferencia de recursos federal de enmiendas parlamentarias sobre el financiamiento municipal de la atención primaria de salud (APS) en el Sistema Único de Salud brasileño (SUS), en el período del 2015 al 2020. Se realizó un estudio longitudinal con datos secundarios de transferencias de recursos por enmiendas parlamentarias del Ministerio de Salud y de gastos con recursos propios de los municipios, aplicados a acciones y servicios públicos de salud y a la APS. El efecto de la transferencia de recursos de enmiendas parlamentarias sobre el financiamiento municipal se verificó de forma estratificada por tamaño de población de los municipios, utilizando modelos de ecuaciones de estimaciones generalizadas. La transferencia de recursos de enmiendas parlamentarias para la APS mostró una gran discrepancia en los valores per cápita entre municipios de diferente tamaño poblacional. No hubo correlación con el gasto municipal en acciones y servicios públicos de salud en aquellos con más de 10.000 habitantes y asociación inversa con el gasto en APS (p < 0,050) en todos los grupos de municipios. Se concluye que el aumento en la transferencia de recursos de enmiendas parlamentarias por parte del Ministerio de Salud favoreció la reducción de la asignación de ingresos municipales a la APS, que pueden haber sido dirigidos a otros fines de gasto en el SUS. Tales cambios parecen reflejar prioridades establecidas para el gasto presupuestario municipal, que repercuten en las condiciones locales para garantizar la estabilidad del financiamiento de la APS en Brasil.

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OBJECTIVE: To identify the out-of-pocket expenses and parent-reported quality of life (QoL) of children with a diagnosis of cow's milk protein allergy between the ages of 0 and 5 using the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire - Parent Form. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary care centers in Bogotá. Demographic, medical information, and QoL scores were collected by parental interview. We carried out a cost-of-illness analysis based on self-reported out-of-pocket expenses attributed to the treatment as a whole and the family's monthly income. Exploratory analyses used the QoL scores and the percentage of out-of-pocket expenses attributable to treatment as outcomes. RESULTS: 122 families were analyzed. Median subject age was 17 months (Q1-Q3: 11-26.75 months) and female subjects made up 71% of the sample. The median QoL score was 3.21 points (Q1-Q3: 2.43-4.34) and only differed by age groups and personal history of other food allergies. The median out-of-pocket treatment related costs was 300,000 Colombian pesos (COP) (Q1-Q3: 280,000-340,000 COP). About 17% of the families had to pay over 15% of their monthly income to purchase food and dietary products. Out-of-pocket treatment related costs differed depending on whether the treatment included formulas (Mann-Whitney test p < 0.001). Out-of-pocket treatment expenses were uncorrelated with the QoL scores. CONCLUSION: Food allergy related QoL scores were not associated with out-of-pocket expenses as a whole or as a fraction of monthly income but were higher in children with additional food allergies and in older age groups, suggesting a lower QoL.

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INTRODUCTION: Health system financing for emerging economies with aging populations and changing epidemiological profiles is an increasing challenge. Peru, as one of the countries with the highest economic growth in this century, provides a good example for analyzing the impact of the budgeting process and the budget execution on the performance of a health system. This article aims to answer how policies and processes are the root causes of the performance gap of the Peruvian health system. METHODS: We used a case study methodology composed of 17 semistructured interviews with senior national and regional actors conducted between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. Participants were selected with a combination of purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling until reaching saturation at 14 interviews. Participants' answers were grouped according to the topics explored, enabling comparisons and identification of themes. RESULTS: The responses revealed that 4 interconnected influences affect the Peruvian health system. Political instability affects the sustainable development of health policies. The fiscal cycle limits the public health expenditure to a low 3% of the gross domestic product. The budget cycle is based on the low motivation of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to establish a proper budgeting process. The execution cycle represents the results of chronic underinvestment with a lack of professionals, equipment, and data affecting the access to care expressed by a high out-of-pocket share in health expenditure. CONCLUSION: To escape these cycles, the MOH needs to be able to argue in economic terms for the prioritization of health, showing the economic rationale for investment in health. Taxes need to finance the additional investment within the available fiscal space. The rigidity of the budget law needs to be adapted, and a technical budget that is oriented to the current and future health priorities needs to be elaborated.

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