Impasse in health financing in Brazil: from the constitutional assembly to the regulation of amendment 29/00

This case study reports the interaction between the legislative and executive powers in the definition of federal legislation impacting on health funding since the last National Constituent Assembly. It highlights the legislative histories and the effects of the following laws: the 1988 Constitution, the Organic Health Law; those related to the Provisional Contribution on Financial Transactions; Constitutional Amendment 29 of 2000, and the Complementary Law 141 of 2012. It was observed that, despite the Legislative best endeavor to move the health financing agenda forward, its dependence on external stimuli has rendered its performance fragmented and inconsistent. The advancements depend on incremental, yet insufficient, solutions to be adopted by the government coalitions.