EFFECTS OF THE "MAIS MÉDICOS PROGRAM" AND "MINAS CONSCIENT" FIGHTING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

This article aimed to evaluate the effects and constraints of the Mais Médicos Program on basic health care services in the context of the pandemic, verifying the extent to which the Minas Consciente plan influenced the results of combating the pandemic in the context of health and employment. To achieve the proposed objective, a quantitative approach was used, with the sample consisting of all municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais, through average tests and propensity score matching (PSM) modeling. The results do not demonstrate the positive effects of Minas Consciente on the main outcome variables, although, on the other hand, the findings reinforce some important elements for the field of public management. The first is that political articulation and the construction of strategic arrangements, between actors from multiple and complex layers of the public sector, is necessary. This is evidenced by the fact that the policies adopted in the first phase of the pandemic had little effect in combating the disease. The second element is evidence of the need for prior capacity building in the public sector, to anticipate larger crises. The third is the requirement for resilience to build rapid response strategies in complex situations that require the articulation of different social actors. In view of the above, the results indicate that the public policies adopted in the first phase of the pandemic were not sufficient to mitigate or reduce the effects caused by the pandemic in terms of health and employment, which suggests that other elements such as the formation of state capabilities , coordination between actors and the formation of resilience play a central role in highly complex emergency crises.