Unimed Fortaleza announces adjustment in health plan prices; see impact

Therefore, all companies with an active contract with Unimed Fortaleza and that have corporate and collective membership plans, in all assistance segments, with up to 29 beneficiaries, will be impacted.

Unimed Fortaleza Hospital, the largest in the Unimed System in Brazil and the largest private hospital in Ceará Credit: Otacilio Tavares

How plan price adjustments occur

According to ANS rules, healthcare operators must present their adjustments based on the calculation methodology that takes into account the historical accident rate of this type of contract.

The adjustment must take place in the respective contract anniversary datestarting this period from May, in the case of Unimed Fortaleza.

SEE ALSO | With a high accident rate, the adjustment must be five times greater than inflation

Contracts with less than 30 lives have the highest annual adjustments

Also according to ANS, contracts with less than 30 lives represent 24% of the total collective contracts that received adjustments between January and November 2023.

The data shows that, historically, health plans with fewer than 30 lives have higher adjustments than contracts with 30 lives or more.

The average readjustment of contracts with less than 30 lives was 17.85%, exceeding the average adjustment for contracts with 30 lives or more by 4.6 percentage points (+13.21%, on average).

Average readjustment of plans on the rise in Ceará

A survey carried out by ANS with 53 operators and 1,650 plans analyzed, reveals that the average price of plans in Ceará was R$ 1,307, an increase of 14.8% compared to the same period in 2022, equivalent to the fifth highest percentage growth in the Region .

“Corporate” hiring – via company employees – is the category with the most expensive average monthly fee in the State, worth R$ 1,324 and 15% annual addition.

The indicator also shows that the State occupies the ninth national position in the growing ranking of the average commercial value of monthly fees. Brazilian values range from R$1,255 to R$1,520. The cheapest is in Espírito Santo, while the most expensive is in Maranhão. Ceará, in addition, is below the national average of R$1,360 (annual increase of 14.1%), among more than 5,500 municipalities surveyed.

It is worth remembering that the average readjustment of collective plans last year had already been around 25%, while the average readjustment of individual plansregulated by the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS) was 9.63%.

In recent years, health plan users have faced substantial increases in monthly payments, which has directly impacted the financial capacity of many. In 2022, ANS approved a 15.50% adjustment for individual and family health plans.

Users of corporate plans had an average adjustment of 22%, while those of collective subscription plans had an average adjustment of 26%.

In an interview with Rádio O POVO CBN, in January, the ANS CEO, Paulo Rebello Filhohighlights that the annual adjustments are independent of the official inflation calculation, but reflect the frequency of use.

He also points out that, shortly after the pandemic, the health sector has seen a growing increase in the cost of inputs and demand after social isolation.