Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
06/07/2017
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
06/07/2017
Source: UOL News
The economic crisis has caused many Brazilians to cancel their health plans - more than 1.5 million Brazilians in 2015 and 2016, according to the ANS (Supplementary Health Agency).
With this decline, advertisements for health plans that are cheaper and even lacking have become more frequent, especially on the Internet and social networks.
But the consumer must be very careful about these offers. According to insurance brokers, there is no individual plan with zero grace, mainly for deliveries.
"A group of people come together to raise money and form a fund, which can then be used by members of the group. The shortage is the time this money needs to stand to render and set up the fund," says Ana Carolina Navarrete, researcher In health of Idec (Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection).
According to her, the ANS determines this maximum time that the grace can be applied, but that does not mean that the operators can not offer zero grace. "It's just very difficult because it's not a good deal for them."
The ANS determines that grace periods are 24 hours in cases of urgency and emergency; 180 days for consultations, exams, hospitalizations and surgeries and 300 days for full term delivery (which does not include premature delivery). Corporate membership plans and entrepreneurs above 30 clients do not have to meet these deadlines. But these plans are made for small and medium-sized businesses, and the beneficiary must have a legal relationship with the company, be a partner, employee or a dependent.
"The consumer should be wary if they offer him or her to enter into a collective plan of some company or even class entity that he does not know or that has nothing to do with the entity that represents him," says Navarrete.
The shortage can also be zero if the consumer changes the operator and the new company takes over the shortage that has already been fulfilled in the previous plan.
"We need to be aware because there is a lot of fraud in the market, and a person who wants to hire a health plan for the first time for her and her family has to know that there is always going to be a shortage," he says. Broker Leonardo Arantes.
Idec advises the consumer to inform themselves of the resolutions established by the ANS through their service channels, pay attention to the rules offered in the contract and always require the broker to do so in writing.
Idec warns that if the consumer joins a collective plan without knowing that he should have a tie with the company, he can file a civil action requiring that the operator who sold the plan makes another identical for him, with the same benefits, within the Established by law.
However, Idec recommends that the injured consumer first organize all contracting documentation of the plan, as well as exchange conversations (even the messages exchanged by mobile phone), and notify the ANS. If the contact happens through the cell phone, it is important to always ask the seller to send, by e-mail, confirmation and everything that has been treated.
By means of the 0800 or the "contact us" form of the ANS Consumer Service Center (http://www.ans.gov.br/planos-de-saude-eoperadoras/espaco-do-consumidor/central-de- -compliance-to-consumer), the consumer can make their complaint and open a process for the agency to activate the operator.
The consumer must then also notify the local consumer protection services, the Procons. And, in the last case, bring the case to justice. It is possible to enter by the Court of Small Causes.
Source: Idec
To access the Idec site, click here.
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.