This article discusses the partnership between the State and social organizations for the management of health work in the public sector, with emphasis on the work of the community health agent. This is a case study carried out in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in an environment of expansions in the coverage of the Family Health Strategy. The topic is analyzed in a context of a broader reform of the Brazilian State, starting from the understanding that the public administration reform movement, known as managerialism, is closely related in their actions and values with the productive restructuring that got underway in the 1970s. The results show that the work management model that was deployed operates under the logic of productivity, influencing the model of the health care provided to the population and the organization of the work done by the community health agent. The analysis also highlights the temporality and externality of the work ties as factors that can compromise the progress of democratization, equity, and citizenship in the field of health and work ensured by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988.
new management models in health work; reform of the State; contracting; work in health; community health agent