In Brazil, we have private clinics and SUS which is our free and universal healthcare system. SUS is responsible for vaccines, all sorts of HIV medications – one of the most prestigious HIV approaches in the whole world, organs transpants, blood banks, gender affirming care for trans people – including hormones treatments, surgeries and psychotherapy, public hospitals, university hospitals, epidemiological survellaince, regulatory health agency, some laboratories, emmergency care and many other institutions, covering mental healthcare/drug addiction issues as well. It has its pros and cons; many times the line is huge, but it really works in many ways. From the poorest person to the richest one, they all use it in some level, in a way or another – supermarkets and fancy restaurants, for example, they’re ablied to sanitary control which is part of SUS work, as I said before.
And yes, foreigners have the right to it as well if they need it in Brazilian soil. Let’s say you give birth or break a leg after being hit by a car, you’ll be treated here with no costs or whatsoever. So, as a tourist, even with no dollar in your pocket, you’re covered by our healthcare system.
What is it like in your country?
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There’s three separate systems, one includes all workers who are working formally, retirees and people who are working informally but still contribute voluntarily to the pension system ($90 a month). This one is sometimes slow to get a date, but includes full coverage, no extra charges.
The other one is public healthcare for everyone, people who are not contributing to the other system use this one, it is lacking in some things, it’s also slow and usually not all medication is included, and people need to buy it externally.
And the third one is the private path, it’s much faster in all ways, but it is more expensive, it’s not that expensive, but usually only middle class and above can usually afford to use this one constantly.
Emergencies must be treated by any of these systems for free, same for ambulances, they can’t charge individuals for their service. The state pays the bills in this case.
It’s not perfect, but it’s better than in a certain so-called developed country.
In Chile every worker with a contract has to pay at least the 7% of their gross salary and the worker can choose between 2 systems:
Public system (FONASA), you just pay the 7% of your salary and you can have some beneficiaries like, wife /husband, children, even in some cases your parents. The system cover almost 100% of the health but just in public hospitals and medical centers, Also you can choose to go to private centres and you can pay maybe the 40% of the total fee.
This public health system also includes a part for people that is not enable to pay, is for free, but you just can be attended in public hospital, you cannot go to some private centres like the other people who pay the 7% of their salaries.
The problem with this system is that public hospitals are tottaly collapsed and the waiting list can last years if you need some surgery or even some attention with some medical specialties .
Private System, you can choose some private insurance companies, also you pay the 7% but if you want some better attention or add more people as beneficiaries, you have to pay more, also there are thousands of different plans and you need a lot of study to choose the better for you.
You can be attenden in private hospitals that are far more better than the public, but cost sometimes a lot of money
In both cases you can also pay for some complementary insurances that covers you in case of very complicated illnesses, cancer, transplants or whatever that cover the part the public or private insurance don’t cover
Its divided in 3 parts one is given by the worker, one by the employer and one by the government.
This is if you have a formal job,.
we have the Instituto mexicano del seguro social (IMSS) and the ISSSTE for government workers.
We used to have seguro popular which was free healtcare for people with no formal jobs but it was reformed into IMSS Bienestar.
Tbh, public healthcare is quite shit, so most people with enough resources will resort to private hospitals and clinics which are very common.
Why was this heavily reported?
There’s the county hospital which is just a giant shitty waiting room with medical equipment somewhere, and the private hospital which could literally care less if you die if you don’t have health insurance so if you don’t have health insurance, you will essentially be told it would be for the betterment of society if you die because you are obviously inferior and don’t provide to society by being poor and having medical problems
It doesn’t
There’s public and private health service providers. Everyone gets a percentage discounted from their salary, and can opt to be treated in public clinics or hospitals, or be a member of one of the private ones. If you don’t have a salary you are treated in the public sector by default (even tourists, unless their insurance covers a private institution).
If you get treated in the public system you get pretty much everything for free. The only things you don’t, I think are some medications for some specific diseases, or some surgeries. If you get treated in the private system, you have to pay a small amount for your medications and treatments. The difference is mainly in wait times and quality of treatment. In the public system there are usually long wait times for some things, and since there’s a lot of people usually you just get some short appointments with doctors and have to navigate bureaucracy by yourself. If you go private it’s a bit easier. Also, the medicines you get in the public system are a lot more controlled, even if you have a chronic disease, so it’s a bit harder to manage.
There’s also private health insurance, which has the best treatment since there’s very few people that use them, as they are very expensive. You have to pay for your meds, but surgeries and treatments are usually covered. The people I know that use this is because their work covers it for them, as a benefit. Wait times are pretty much nonexistent and you can see any doctor any time you want.
Public system: 100% free, in most provinces for everyone regardless of status in the country. Some provinces started to charge non-resident foreigners because of the system being abused by neighbouring countries. The public system covers all treatments, from transplants to complex surgeries, cancer and vaccines, and has a very good reputation among the population because the best doctors work in public hospitals. However, infrastructure is worse than in the private system.
Obras sociales: this is a private system managed by unions, that covers formal workers. Every worker has a % of their salary debited to pay for the insurance. It covers all medical attention included in the PMO (mandatory health coverage) which is a law that establishes the bare minimum private insurances must cover (all illnesses, treatments, condoms, formula for babies, etc.).
Prepagas: 100% private insurance, similar to obras sociales, but it’s paid from pocket. As a formal worker, you can choose to allocate the % of the salary that goes to obra social to a prepaga and pay the extra needed. Some prepagas also work as obras sociales, so it depends on your employer. Like obras sociales, they cover everything included in the PMO, but have a variety of plans that cover more stuff not included in the PMO, like plastic surgeries, some dental care stuff, etc.
SUS, darling, stands for Sistema Único de Saúde (Brazil’s Unified Health System). And yes, it’s universal, free, and for EVERYONE. Literally everyone. Whether you’re Brazilian, a foreigner, a tourist, rich, poor, hot or not — if you walk into a public hospital, you get treated. No questions asked.
It was created in 1988, after our Constitution declared that health is a right for all and a duty of the State. Brazil then had the audacity to build one of the largest public healthcare systems in the world — and it actually works.
The SUS covers everything: from free vaccines and doctor appointments to high-complexity procedures like organ transplants. It includes preventive care, chronic illness treatment, medication distribution, emergency services, health surveillance, and more.
And guess what? It’s a global reference in public healthcare and a source of national pride for Brazilians. The system played a huge role during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to save millions of lives every year, despite challenges like underfunding and long waiting times.
So yes, SUS is about dignity, access, and care. It’s public policy at its finest. And believe me, we Brazilians will defend it with signs, chants, glitter, and samba if needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVLbq0MczGc
the “socialist healthcare” that reddit progesives love so much