Skip to content

Private Health in Brazil Final Customers Identification

Customers Categorization

The final customers in the value chain of the private health industry in Brazil can be categorized into two main segments: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B).

  • B2C (Business-to-Consumer): This category primarily consists of the individual beneficiaries of private health plans and individuals who directly pay for healthcare services, medications, or health products out-of-pocket. These are the end-users who receive medical, dental, or complementary health services. Examples include individuals with private health insurance policies, individuals paying cash for consultations, exams, or procedures, and those purchasing medications directly from pharmacies.
  • B2B (Business-to-Business): While the ultimate beneficiary is an individual, the B2B segment involves entities that purchase health plans or contract for healthcare services on behalf of a group of individuals. This mainly includes companies that provide health plans as an employee benefit, professional associations or unions that offer group health plans to their members, and potentially government entities or other organizations contracting for specific health-related services for their constituents. These entities act as intermediaries, facilitating access to private healthcare for a collective.

Customer Characteristics and Demographics

Based on the provided analysis, the private health sector in Brazil primarily serves specific segments of the population. The private arm of the Brazilian health system "absorbs the majority of higher-income households and an ever-growing middle class" seeking perceived quality differentials, shorter waiting times, and wider provider choice compared to the public system (SUS). The sheer volume of beneficiaries provides a key demographic indicator: there are over 52 million beneficiaries in medical-hospital plans and approximately 34 million users of exclusively dental plans as of late 2024 and early 2025. This indicates a significant portion of the Brazilian population relies on the private sector for at least part of their healthcare needs.

While detailed demographic profiles such as age distribution, specific income brackets, or geographic concentration within these segments are not extensively elaborated in the provided text, the mention of "regional disparities in service capacity" suggests that the density and accessibility of private healthcare services, and therefore potentially the customer base, vary across different regions of Brazil. For example, the North and rural Midwest regions face lower ratios of private beds per inhabitant compared to states like São Paulo. This implies that customers in more developed or wealthier regions may have better access and represent a larger portion of the private health customer base than those in underserved areas.

In the B2B segment, the characteristics of customers are tied to the nature of the purchasing entities. These are typically companies of varying sizes, professional bodies, or unions whose decision to purchase health plans is influenced by factors such as employee benefits packages, collective bargaining agreements, and the health needs of their members. The specific demographics of the employees or members within these B2B customer groups would reflect the workforce or membership base of those organizations.

Overall, the final customers of the private health industry in Brazil are largely drawn from the higher-income and middle-class segments of the population, accessing care either individually or through group plans provided by their employers or associations. Their characteristics are influenced by socioeconomic factors, employment status, and geographic location within Brazil.

References

  • Agência Gov. Março de 2024: planos de assistência médica somam mais de 51 milhões de usuários. 6 May 2024. https://agenciagov.ebc.br/noticias/202405
  • Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar (ANS). ANS divulga dados de beneficiários em novembro de 2024. 3 Jan 2025. https://www.gov.br/ans/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/beneficiarios
  • CNseg. Planos de saúde alcançam 51 milhões de beneficiários em janeiro de 2024. 14 Mar 2024. https://cnseg.org.br/noticias/planos-51-milhoes
  • ISTOÉ DINHEIRO. Planos de saúde ganham mais de 860 mil clientes em 2024. 5 Feb 2025. https://www.istoedinheiro.com.br/planos-de-saude