Solidarity liability of federative entities and "side effects" for the right to health

Abstract

The judicial enforcement of the right to health in Brazil raises advances and challenges for public policies. This article analyzes two judicial decisions from the 4th Region’s Federal Court in 2014 admitting the concurrent and solidary responsibility of federative entities in the supply of medicines. In both decisions, the appeal was allowed and the idea that federative entities have concurrent competence and solidarity in health was reinforced. On the one 
hand, a common example of interaction between the law and the health is observed in these decisions; on the other, a production of tensions and contradictions is identified. At first glance, the recognition of the solidary responsibility of federative entities may seem strongly positive from the user’s perspective, and this will lead to having more users going to courts to claim their right to health. However, from a management perspective, it brings challenges as there will be overpayment of some entities of the federation at the expense of others. In this sense, and based on cases, the main rules of competence currently used in health public policies will be presented. Major advances, limits and challenges of recognizing the solidary responsibility of federative entities as well as some “side effects” that some court decisions may bring will also be discussed.