Public health can gain more resources from lotteries in Brazil with the replacement of Bill 3.709/2019, which allocates 1% of the collection of various types of lotteries to states and Federal District health departments. The change in the proposal of Senator Mecias de Jesus, was replaced by the rapporteur, Senator Irajá (PSD / TO), which included the municipalities in the allocation of resources through funds and not the secretariats of government. The project will go on to the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) for consideration after undergoing a supplementary shift at CAS.
In justifying the proposal, Mecias de Jesus explains that "the proposed change, from allocating 1% of all lottery modalities to the states and Federal District health departments, in an equitable manner, would allow a significant increase in resources." He also points out that “total revenue, in real terms, was R$ 14.4 billion (US$ 3.55bn) in 2017 and R$ 13.9 billion (US$ 3.45bn) in 2018. Considering this average, the approval of our proposal, which may represent R$ 140 million (US$ 34.7m) per year, would be more than ten times what was transferred to health in the best year of collection of the decade.”
The target of change is Law 13,756 of 2018, which deals with the National Public Safety Fund (FNSP). This reinforcement to the health of the federation entities would come from the collection of the following lottery modalities: federal lottery; numerical forecasts (Mega Sena, Quina, Lotofácil etc.), specific and sportive; and Lotex.
For Senator Eduardo Girão, the proposal and the report were well prepared. However, he warned of the danger of legalizing illegal gambling.
"The bill will help in an area that will really do this confrontation to take care of these people. And it is a warning, because later they will want to bring bingo and casino. Then, no. Everything has a limit," said the senator.
Counties
The rapporteur agreed in principle with the idea of promoting a decentralized and direct transfer of these resources to states and the Federal District without the intermediation of the National Health Fund (FNS).
“This form of resource transfer is consistent with the constitutional guideline for decentralizing management of the Unified Health System (SUS). This enables the allocation of resources by managers of subnational entities, according to local and regional health priorities,” said Irajá.
However, it differed from the exclusion of municipalities from the initiative, because it is the Federation entities directly responsible for planning, organizing, controlling and evaluating health actions and services and managing and executing services within the SUS.
Based on this understanding, Irája developed a substitute to include municipalities among the beneficiaries of PL 3,709 / 2019. Like the states and the Federal District, these entities will also receive 1% of the lottery modalities mentioned for financing health actions.
Another change promoted was the replacement of health departments by health funds as recipients of these transfers.
Source: Agência Senado
