Key points
- Brazil runs the Beveridge model: a national health service (SUS), funded from general taxation.
- SUS was created by the 1988 Constitution and covers all residents; the Ministry of Health calls it the world's largest public health system.
- Care is delivered by public SUS facilities and private providers, with Family Health Strategy teams as primary care.
- SUS care is free at the point of use for all residents; 52.2 million people also hold private medical plans (end-2024, ANS).
- Life expectancy at birth was 75.9 years in 2023, and health spending was 9.7% of GDP in 2023 (WHO Global Health Estimates; World Bank, WHO Global Health Expenditure Database).
Direct answer: Brazil runs the Beveridge model: a national health service (SUS), funded from general taxation and decentralised to the states and municipalities. SUS was created by the 1988 Constitution and covers all residents; the Ministry of Health calls it the world's largest public health system. Care is delivered by public SUS facilities and private providers, with Family Health Strategy teams as primary care. SUS care is free at the point of use for all residents; 52.2 million people also hold private medical plans (end-2024, National Agency for Supplementary Health). Life expectancy at birth was 75.9 years in 2023, and health spending was 9.7% of GDP in 2023 (WHO Global Health Estimates; World Bank, WHO Global Health Expenditure Database).
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Beveridge — national health service (SUS) |
| Who pays | General taxation, decentralised to states and municipalities |
| Who delivers | Public SUS facilities and private providers; Family Health Strategy teams as primary care |
| What is free at the point of use | SUS care free at the point of use for all residents; private plans held by 52.2 million people (end-2024) |
| Life expectancy at birth | 75.9 years (2023, WHO Global Health Estimates) |
| Health spending | 9.7% of GDP (2023, World Bank, WHO Global Health Expenditure Database) |
| Source for the model and coverage | Commonwealth Fund — Brazil country profile |
Figures are a snapshot checked 7 November 2026, not a live feed. No country is ranked as best.
How the system works
The Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) was written into Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, which made health a right of all and a duty of the state. It is funded from general taxation — federal, state and municipal budgets — and run jointly by the three levels of government: the federal Ministry of Health sets policy and the national programmes, the states coordinate, and the municipalities run most services. The first point of contact is primary care, organised through the Family Health Strategy: multidisciplinary teams of a doctor, a nurse, a nursing assistant and community health workers, each responsible for a defined population in a defined territory.
Hospitals and specialist care sit above primary care, delivered by public facilities and by private providers contracted by SUS. Alongside SUS, a private market of health plans covers 52.2 million people with medical plans at the end of 2024, plus 34.5 million with dental-only plans (National Agency for Supplementary Health, February 2025) — mostly people whose employers pay the premium. Private patients still use SUS for vaccinations, emergency care and high-cost treatments such as transplants and cancer drugs.
Who pays, and what people pay
General taxation pays for SUS, and premiums pay for private plans. Patients pay nothing for SUS care at the point of use: consultations, hospital stays, vaccinations and medicines on the SUS list are free. Out-of-pocket spending was 26.2% of total health spending in 2023 (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database) — mostly medicines bought outside SUS, private consultations and dental care. The Farmácia Popular programme subsidises medicines through partner pharmacies, and the Mais Acesso a Especialistas programme, launched to cut specialist waiting times, had 2,700 municipalities signed up by July 2024 (Ministry of Health).
What is free, and what is not
Everything SUS provides is free at the point of use for every resident, regardless of income or employment — there is no contribution to pay and no bill for a visit, a test or a hospital stay. What is not free is the margin outside SUS: medicines not on the SUS list, private consultations and private hospital rooms, and most dental care beyond the basic public offer. Those costs fall on households directly or on private plans, which is why out-of-pocket spending remains above a quarter of total spending even though the public system itself charges nothing.
How it compares
Brazil spends 9.7% of GDP on health (2023), above the OECD average of 9.3% (2024), and its life expectancy of 75.9 years is 5.2 years below the OECD average of 81.1 years (2023). Brazil is not in the OECD tables, so its figures come from WHO and World Bank sources for 2023 rather than the OECD’s 2024 dashboards. Its distinguishing feature is scale: a single tax-funded system covering more than 200 million people, free at the point of use, with a large private market sitting alongside it rather than replacing it. Compare countries side by side in the Health System Comparison tool, or read the other profiles in the country index.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brazilian healthcare free?
SUS care is free at the point of use for all residents — consultations, hospital care, vaccinations and medicines on the SUS list. About a quarter of the population also holds a private plan, which pays for faster access to specialists and private hospitals.
What is the SUS?
The Sistema Único de Saúde, the Unified Health System, created by the 1988 Constitution. It is funded from general taxation and run jointly by the federal government, the states and the municipalities.
What is the Family Health Strategy?
The SUS model of primary care: multidisciplinary teams — a doctor, a nurse, a nursing assistant and community health workers — responsible for a defined population in a defined territory, and the first point of contact for most people.