Political partisanship and influence from the funding structure on the adhesion of municipalities to health policies: evidence from the project Mais Médicos para o Brasil

Abstract

The project Mais Médicos para o Brasil (More Doctors for Brazil) is an action of the program Mais Médicos, created by the Brazilian federal government and implemented by the Brazilian municipalities starting in 2013. The goal of the program is to provide Brazilian and foreign doctors to regions of the country where these professionals are lacking. This study investigates if political partisanship and the funding structure have influence in the decision of municipalities to join the project. For such, this study uses data of adhesion from municipalities depending on the party affiliation of mayors and conducts interviews with health secretaries from two municipalities selected in the region of Limeira in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The results suggest that both political partisanship and the funding structure have influence. This study concludes that even in federated countries marked by regional differences, national public policies that require cooperation from different government levels can be implemented with relative success, as long as a proper funding structure is designed during the formulation of the policy.

Keywords:
Public policy; Political party affiliation; Structure of incentives; Brazilian Unified Health System; Program More Doctors for Brazil