Lula and Flávio's health advisers present similar plans for Brazil's public health system

The health advisers chosen by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro presented strikingly similar ideas for Brazil's Unified Health System at an event on Tuesday. Both backed stronger domestic production of medicines and medical supplies, wider use of technology, integrated public-health data and payments linked to patient outcomes rather than each procedure performed.

The sharper differences emerged when the advisers discussed their political opponents. Cláudio Lottenberg, the physician Flávio Bolsonaro said he would appoint to lead the Health Ministry if elected, did not criticize the Workers' Party administration. He acknowledged that some of his proposals connect to policies already under way, including a redesign of public-network payments. Data integration, he said, is the "sequence of what is already under way."

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sequence of what is already under way

Lottenberg described SUS as a "successful structure" that needs improvement and refinement, not a wholesale "reform." Padilha, by contrast, criticized the anti-vaccine stance and cuts made by Jair Bolsonaro's government to programs including Farmácia Popular. He did not mention Lottenberg by name. People close to Padilha said the two men have an amicable relationship and recalled that Lottenberg had been considered as a possible running mate for Padilha's 2014 campaign for mayor of São Paulo.

The event was organized by the Amado Mundo channel and brought representatives of presidential campaigns together to discuss proposals through 2030. Each adviser had 20 minutes to speak, with no debate or audience questions.

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successful structure

Padilha said a re-elected Lula would consolidate policies already in progress, including the Agora Tem Especialistas program. He said the initiative is "burying" fragmented procedure-by-procedure payments by giving providers a package covering diagnosis, consultation and other services. He also proposed expanding mobile clinics in remote areas, strengthening a national cancer-care network, widening care protocols for women going through menopause and older people receiving home care, and permanently adding weight-loss injections to SUS.

Lottenberg proposed better data integration, artificial intelligence to organize SUS waiting lists, including transplant queues, and using databases to identify patients overdue for vaccines or other tests. He also argued that genetic mapping of Brazil's population could prevent waste on medicines developed using foreign data.

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burying