Effectiveness of the law on priority for the elderly in health claims in Rio de Janeiro

The growth of older adults is a global event. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the law on priority for the elderly in relation to the procedural processing of health claims made in the Lower Courts of Justice of the judicial district of the Capital of Rio de Janeiro State. A descriptive cross-sectional study of the proceedings assigned in the period from 2018 to 2019 was conducted. The total sample included 1,040 identified cases, but only 240 were eligible (23%). Most claims were related to home care services (26.3%), particularly for adults aged 80 years and over (54.7%). The legal effectiveness of the law for the 60- to 79-year-old age group was 86% and 97.3% for other elderly people. The processing time of the lawsuits, however, was shorter for mature adults than for older people (p=0,020) and similar between older adults aged 80 years or above and other elderly adults (p=0,400). Monitoring the impact of this law on society is essential, older people are at a stage of life in which the issue of time is essential, particularly when the claim is related to health

Capital city · Economic Justice · Elderly people · Geography · Political science · Sociology · Demography · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Law · Medicine · Public Health in Brazil · Gerontology