Including the vaccine in mandatory health plan coverage does not make sense, says sector representative – Health

Brasilia – Decision Ministry of Health to ask me National Agency for Complementary Health (ANS) to include the Vaccines against COVID-19 In the list of mandatory procedures that must be covered health insurance The sector received some strangeness and skepticism.

About the Brazilian Association of Health Plans (cover, cover), health monitoring is a governmental task and there are at least three obstacles to the idea to be implemented. “This idea has no precedent and, in my view, is meaningless,” said Marcos Pestana, a special adviser to the Presidency of Programme, who is also a former federal deputy and former Secretary of State for Health. Minas Gerais.

Today, there is no vaccine included in the list of mandatory actions provided for by the ANS. Vaccinations are generally performed by the SUS or by private clinics.

According to him, the first obstacle to the inclusion of immunizing agents in the list of measures of the ANS is the nature of the immunization program itself, based on epidemiological criteria and following a government strategy, and not on income criteria – given accessibility or not. The health plan relates to the social and economic status of the citizen.

He points out that since the 1970s, before the establishment of the Unified Health System (SUS) and still under the military dictatorship, the immunization program has been one of the government’s agenda, and vaccination coverage in Brazil has been a model for other countries.

From Oswaldo Cruz (a pioneer in the fight against epidemics in Brazil), Since the world is the world, vaccination is a government task. It is a public health issue,” Pestana stated.

The second hurdle, he said, is the economic rationale for health plans. Since everyone will need to be vaccinated, the operators will share the cost among the participants. “In practical terms, it’s as if everyone paid for the vaccine out of their own pocket,” he said.

The third problem is the unavailability of immunization agents for private purchase. Pestana noted that laboratories that provide vaccines only negotiate with governments.