Como se estrutura a venda de Planos de Saúde Empresariais (PME) por meio da intermediação do corretor

Resumo

Brazil has its own particularities across various aspects and areas, and the supplementary health insurance market is no exception, especially when it comes to the commercialization of health plans. There are national practices that differ from others in the insurance market. This is particularly true for corporate health plans, which are the main product sold and account for 73% of active contracts. These plans are mostly contracted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a characteristic that directly reflects the structure of the Brazilian labor market, where SMEs play a prominent role as the segment that employs the most formal workers and holds the largest number of corporate health plan contracts. Given this context, this dissertation aims to understand how the process of contracting health plans by small and mediumsized enterprises is organized, and to identify the role and value of the broker in the sales process, considering the incentive structure, commercial dynamics, and economic relevance of this segment to the supplementary health market. The SME segment was chosen due to its economic significance and the volume of contracts established with health plan operators. In the theoretical framework, the study briefly examines the origins of insurance, the institutionalization of the broker as an intermediary, and the process of building the regulatory framework of the Brazilian supplementary health market; these elements provide conceptual support for the empirical analysis. Regarding methodology, this is a qualitative and exploratory study, developed through semi-structured interviews with executives from health plan operators and brokerage firms that operate or have operated in the supplementary health market. Data analysis was conducted through content analysis, enabling the identification of categories and patterns that contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon. The results indicate that health plan operators are highly dependent on brokers as a sales channel and on the SME segment for building and maintaining their client portfolios. These dependencies sustain an incentive model based primarily on financial commissions, which stimulates the broker’s commercial activity and ensures broad market reach. However, the study shows that this compensation structure generates incentive misalignments, favoring, in certain contexts, the switching of contracts between operators rather than a net expansion of the supplementary health beneficiary base. The study concludes that the broker is a structural actor in the supplementary health market, especially in the SME segment, and that the sector’s challenge lies not in eliminating intermediation, but in improving its incentive structures, so as to align interests and foster the sustainable long-term expansion of the system.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Dissertação

Ano

2026

Instituição

Fundação Getulio Vargas

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Acesso aberto

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/39266

Temas

Saúde

Palavras-chave

Planos de pré-pagamento em saúdeSaúde suplementarSeguro saúdeContratosRemuneraçãoPrepaid health plansSupplemental healthInsurance healthContractRemunerationAdministração de empresasSaúde suplementar - BrasilPlanos de assistência de saúde aos empregadosODS 3: Saúde e bem-estar