Judicialisation of Health: Ineffectiveness of the Constitutional Principles of Equality and Universality in Healthcare

Paraphrasing Article 196 of Brazil's Federal Constitution (BRASIL, 1988), health is the right of all and the duty of the state, guaranteed through social and economic policies aimed at reducing the risk of disease and other illnesses and universal and equal access to actions and services for its promotion, protection and recovery. Some of the terms mentioned above become more relevant in the general context, i.e. ‘everyone's right to health’ and ‘universal and equal access’. Under the terms of the law, health is an essential condition for the dignity of the individual; it is included among the list of social rights in Article 6 of the Federal Constitution, and it is the responsibility of the state, through public policies and its agencies, to ensure it as a right for all nationals or foreigners on national soil. The issue under analysis is confronted at the moment of the ineffectiveness of government actions in providing public health, so that a parallel can be drawn between the terms of the law, the vacillating doctrine on the subject and social reality.