Survey shows that the increase is 3.1% considering the same period in 2025 and 2026
In April 2026, health plans increased again among the elderly than among young people. The number of beneficiaries aged 0 to 18 practically did not change in the period of 1 year, while that of people over 59 years old had the most significant increase. The data comes from NAB (Beneficiary Monitoring Note) nº 118, produced by IESS (Institute of Supplementary Health Studies). Read the research (PDF – 5.6 MB).
The data shows that health plans for beneficiaries of:
- 0 to 18 years old: totaled 11.98 million in April 2025 and rose to 11.97 in April 2026, a drop of 0.1%;
- 19 to 58 years old: totaled 31.68 million in April 2025 and increased to 32.27 million in April 2026, an increase of 1.8%;
- 59 years or older: totaled 8.45 million in April 2025 and increased to 8.71 million in April 2026, an increase of 3.1%.
The sector ended April with 52.96 million plan beneficiaries, which represents growth of 1.6% compared to the same month of the previous year. 836.7 thousand links were incorporated in one year.
“Supplementary healthcare serves beneficiaries at different stages of life. Therefore, monitoring the evolution of age groups is important to understand the dynamics of the sector and the demographic changes that are also reflected in health plan portfolios”says Denizar Vianna, executive superintendent of IESS.
Collective plans continue to be the majority on the market. In April 2026, 44.5 million people had this type of plan, which represents 84% of beneficiaries of medical and hospital plans. Within this group, 38.7 million were in corporate collective plans, which correspond to 87% of collective contracts.
DENTAL PLANS
Dental-only plans reached 35.98 million beneficiaries in April 2026, an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period in 2025. In 1 year, the sector gained 1.2 million new beneficiaries.
As with medical and hospital plans, collective contracts are the majority among dental plans. In April, 30.2 million people had collective plans, equivalent to 84% of the total. Of these, 89% were corporate collective contracts.
ABOUT OR IESS
IESS is a non-profit institution that carries out studies on the supplementary healthcare market in Brazil and produces data and analyzes to support public policies, improve the healthcare system and contribute to the debate about the sector.
