Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), from the rapporteur to “unlock” the text, the deputy (PSB-MA) claims to have faced a reaction from companies when prohibiting the unilateral termination of contracts and resisting the inclusion of the segmented plan in his opinion.
Duarte Jr., who says he did not want to leave the rapporteur, says he is worried about a possible weakening of consumers with the change. “I spent three years of my life holding meetings, public hearings all over Brazil. We listened to health plans, hospitals, consumer protection bodies, inspection and control bodies, the State Public Ministry, the Federal Public Ministry. Everyone was heard”, he states.
According to him, the dialogue with the operators stalled when the parliamentarian reinforced that he would include the prohibition of unilateral termination in his opinion. “The dialogue stopped. It wasn’t on my part towards them. It was the plans towards me and when I said that I won’t give up the prohibition on unilateral termination of the contract”, he says. “It was on this issue and on the segmented plan. From then on, they didn’t even seek a meeting.”
This, according to the deputy, occurred at the end of the administration of the former president of the Chamber (PP-AL), Motta’s predecessor.
These were one of the reasons that led to the resumption of coordination around the project. In May of last year, Lira and advanced the proposal being processed in the Chamber. Despite this, cases of this type continued to occur.
Segmented plans are defended by operators as a cheaper option, but criticized by consumer protection associations for not including hospitalizations.
“My concern is what will happen. I worry that there will be no prohibition on unilateral termination of the contract, that it will be something harmful to the consumer”, says Duarte Jr. “Because if it were to be something pro-consumer, there would be no need to change the rapporteur.”
The deputy argues that the prohibition on unilateral termination of the contract is a matter of justice. “It is not fair for a consumer to pay for a health plan all his life and, when he needs it most, the plan decides to unilaterally cancel the contract, even though the user pays on time, without delay, for the simple fact that this consumer starts to cost more to the plan”, he criticizes.
“Consumer protection bodies have to be alert to what is happening. People have to be alert to what is happening, because the tendency will be to continue being able to cancel the contract, even if the consumer pays, and create a segmented plan, which will offer the consumer the obligation to pay in order to even be entitled to a consultation”, he criticizes. “But when he needs a specialist, surgery, he won’t have one.”
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