The Brazilian Unique Health System (SUS) represents a set of health actions that must be constantly evaluated. Thus, this research aimed at evaluating the SUS in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, considering their manager's beliefs, using a sample of nine managers from the five sanitary districts, which answered a semi-structured interview, analyzed through the ALCESTE. The results showed that the managers realize the SUS importance in the search for health universalization, assuming however, the existence of barriers in the basic attention and the reference system, turning the access more difficult. Problems due to resources mismanagement and deficient managers' training pointed out by political alliances, absence of community in the Municipal Health Councils. It is concluded by the need for changing the prevailing culture that the middle class should use private health insurance plans, while SUS is aimed at providing health care to poor people.
Assessment; Unique Health System; Health care management
