Padilha and Haddad's plan to reduce queues in the SUS

With the aim of expanding specialized care and reducing the waiting list in the SUS , ministers Alexandre Padilha (Health) and Fernando Haddad (Finance) announced this Tuesday 24th a program that will allow private and philanthropic hospitals to exchange debts for care for SUS patients.

The initiative, which will be part of the recently launched 'Agora Tem Especialistas' , will be made possible by an Interministerial Ordinance that will soon be published jointly by the two ministries. According to the government, the institutions' participation is voluntary.

To ensure the possibility of receiving financial credits, private and philanthropic hospitals must contact the Ministry of Finance to negotiate tax debts. The institutions will then submit their application to the Ministry of Health, which will analyze whether the services offered meet the local and regional demands of the SUS.

The parameter for this assessment is the list of procedures, a specific table from the Ministry of Health that lists the services needed to ease the waiting list in the public health system: consultations, exams, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and elective surgeries. Hospitals also need to demonstrate technical and operational capacity to provide the service .

With the approval of the Ministry, the provision of specialized services will be shared with the states and municipalities. From then on, SUS patients will be able to receive care from the private sector throughout Brazil.

If private hospitals perform more surgeries, more exams, more specialist consultations and help the SUS to reduce queues, they will receive compensation — either through tax credits or through the reduction of tax debts,” said Padilha.

Haddad also highlighted the importance of the measure. “This new initiative is moving in the right direction, as it strengthens the SUS at a time when we are still experiencing the effects of the pandemic, which require increased attention,” he said.

How will credit for hospitals work?

Entities must offer a set of procedures for at least R$100,000 per month, at the table price. In regions with fewer private institutions and high demand, the minimum value is R$50,000.

Institutions with more than R$10 million in debt can exchange up to 30% of that debt for care for SUS patients. In cases of debts between R$5 million and R$10 million, 40% of the amount can be exchanged.

If the debt is less than 5 million reais per establishment, up to 50% of the debt can be exchanged for service with the issuance of financial credits per year.

Private and philanthropic hospitals that join the program will begin providing services in the public network in 2025, but the financial credits generated may offset tax debts due or arising from tax transactions as of January 1, 2026.