The government (PT) authorized transfers of around R$7.84 billion in extra funds to states and municipalities with a slice of the Budget that is claimed by parliamentarians as a .
The appeal is not framed as an indication of deputies and senators, which allows it to escape the controls imposed by the (Federal Supreme Court), such as the requirement to appoint the political godfather.
The ministry denies that the transfers are negotiated with Congress and says that part of the money is applied to priority actions, such as the Agora Tem Especialistas program.
Of the amount approved until December 31, around R$790 million was directed to the state government and city halls of São Paulo.
Bahia’s secretariats should receive R$641 million of this amount. Minas Gerais (R$621 million), Alagoas (R$603 million) and Rio de Janeiro (R$560 million) complete the list of the biggest beneficiaries.
In a note, the department headed by (PT) states that the distribution of this type of resource has been routine since the 1990s “to provide an emergency supplement to health care costs in municipalities”.
“This year, the Ministry of Health made unprecedented progress, adopting normative criteria and technical analysis of work plans presented by states and municipalities — the transfers strictly comply with current legislation”, says the body.
The ministry also states that all states and capitals and around 3,400 municipalities were covered, “even though these local governments are under the management of parties opposing the federal government.”
The ministry, however, did not explain the criteria for apportioning the funds and why states like Alagoas, which has the 19th largest population among the federation units, are among the biggest beneficiaries.
As transparency regarding the participation of parliamentarians is low, it is not possible to indicate what percentage of resources are directed by political criteria. In a note, the ministry states that the actions of mayors, governors and parliamentarians in defense of more resources for their bases “is legitimate and expected in consolidated democracies”.
The dynamics of at least part of the transfers is illustrated by a request for R$1 million made to the ministry on December 16 by the Health Department of Toledo (PR), which mentioned the support of deputy Luciano Alves (PSD-PR).
According to the municipal body, an advisor to the parliamentarian said that the funds were available and informed that it was necessary to formalize the request for appeal to the federal government. When contacted, Alves did not speak out.
The secretary of the city of Paraná stated that the protocol will be evaluated within the “regular flow” of the ministry, without differentiated treatment. “The resource in question is not characterized as a transfer, but as a transfer provided for in a ministerial order, accessible to municipalities that meet the established criteria”, stated the ministry.
Representative Jilmar Tatto (PT-SP) also asked, in August, for the release of R$3 million to São José do Rio Preto (SP), a sum that was confirmed in October. The parliamentarian declined to comment on the report.
The City Hall of Própria (SE) included the transfer of R$ 4.3 million of the extra funds in its “panel of parliamentary amendments”. On the same website, it states that senator Laércio Oliveira (PP-SE) is the godfather of the funding, but he denies it and states that there may be a “technical error” on the part of the municipality.
On social media, deputy Yury do Paredão (MDB-CE) published a letter in which he notified the City of Juazeiro do Norte (CE) about the payment of R$500,000 indicated by him.
Another on social media shows a letter in which senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) says he has indicated R$800,000 in “extraordinary resources” for the municipality of Muniz Freire (ES). In the document, he advises the mayor to seek out his office’s budget advisor at .
Under reservation, three Congressional authorities and four Health secretariat managers said that the extra health resource was included in the menu of funds offered by the government to meet the demands of deputies and senators, in addition to strengthening local alliances for the 2026 elections.
The formal rite to receive the extra payment involves requesting the funds by letter. The ministry carries out a prior analysis and enables, or not, the municipality or state to receive a certain amount. The money is released after the local secretariat confirms a proposal to use the resource in the InvestSUS system.
Since May, when the ministry published an ordinance regulating the distribution of extra funds, the ministry has authorized around 6,500 transfers. As there is no specific marker in the Budget to locate this money on transparency portals, the figure was calculated with data from more than 280 Health ordinances.
Questioned in a process based on the LAI (Access to Information Law), the ministry did not confirm how many requests it fulfilled and rejected in 2025. This extra transfer is outside the R$27.1 billion formally reserved as amendments from the Ministry of Health. The ministry is the main source of the approximately R$50.4 billion in indications planned for 2025.
The budget is also different from regular transfers to states and municipalities, calculated by the ministry based on SUS production indicators, such as the number of surgeries and other procedures carried out in previous years, among other data.
The STF minister, who reports on the actions on transparency of the amendments, has already questioned the government about the ministry’s supposed dribble, after. In response to the Supreme Court, the government said that there are no “parallel committee amendments” or “new Secret Budget”. In the same action, Congress stated that the government’s discretionary funds are subject exclusively to the Executive’s management.
