The current paper presents in its first part a theoretical framework for analyzing the main market failures in the health sector followed by a general evaluation of the private health sector in OCDE countries and a comparative approach to the Brazilian case. In the second part, there is a brief historical of the private health sector in Brazil since the seventies and also some inferences are drawn from Pnad - IBGE data that allow a picture of private insurance consumers.
Private insurance plans; Supplemental health; Market failures; Health supply and demand
