Brazilian towns audit SUS care and spending amid oncology delays

In Campos dos Goytacazes, a public hearing at the municipal chamber focused on the long wait for first‑time oncology care under the Unified Health System (SUS). Councilor Anderson de Matos criticised the state health secretariat for its absence and blamed 17 deaths on delayed regulation, stating, “I consider it a lack of respect with the 17 people who died. They died because of the delay in state regulation, not because of cancer.” He reported that the mastology queue was cleared and that dozens of oncology patients had been regulated, though he warned that the problem persists.

In Caxias do Sul, another municipal health committee hearing presented the detailed report for the first quarter of 2026. The city’s health secretary, Rafael Bueno, disclosed that 24.5% of municipal tax revenue—R$ 620.9 million—was spent on health services, exceeding the constitutional minimum of 15%. Expenditures reached R$ 152.1 million, up 13.9% year‑on‑year, with 143 people awaiting hospitalization in local emergency units, most for respiratory illnesses. The report also listed over a million primary‑care visits and more than a million specialist appointments during the period.