Increase of Health Insurance on People with Disability: A Reading from the Point of View of Public Finances and Tax Law

Abstract

Decree 70/2023 has brought a series of conflicts related to access to private healthcare based on the unreasonable increases in monthly fees paid by the clients. The immediate consequence has been an inexhaustible amount of cases of amparo for constitutional protection that have been filed, especially from people with disabilities, in order to stop the increases in the fees.

However, in the non-final interlocutory resolutions allowing the claim to limit increases in health plan contributions, there is a specific argumentative deficiency that focuses on the issue of public finances. Surprisingly, this rationale has a flaw based on Decree No. 70/2023 itself, since it has created a hidden tax that charges the healthcare companies to finance the Solidarity Redistribution Fund. These companies are transferring the tax burden directly to their clients.

This article focuses on objectively describing the legal situation of Decree No. 70/2023 regarding increases in health plans and the legislative system directly applicable to this issue. Thus, the reader is invited to draw their conclusions with a vision that is placed from the point of view of the clients, especially those who have some type of disability, and also from the public financial resources that benefit private medicine companies. These conclusions are studied with the lens of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which specially includes an economic aspect relevant to this topic.