Relations between coverage litigation and technological incorporation in supplementary private health insurance: a case study on chemotherapy

Abstract

Coverage denial of health treatment is the leading cause of litigations against insurers, whose main reason alleged for such refusals is the fact that the requested treatment is not included in the List of Procedures and Events in Health of the Brazilian Regulatory Agency for Private Health Insurance and Plans. This paper analyzed the incorporation of health technologies in Brazil, especially in supplementary private health insurance, and the regulation of cancer treatment coverage by health plans, identifying possible influences and the meaning of judicial rulings over the incorporation of chemotherapy technologies in supplementary private health insurance. For this purpose, the analysis used two databases, which together contain information on all judgements (1.368) issued between 2015 and 2019 by the São Paulo State Court of Justice on lawsuits filed in the capital's judicial district that required private chemotherapy coverage. Cases of the ten most required chemotherapeutics were explored in greater detail. Results showed that, although sectorial regulation determines that seven out of the ten most required chemotherapeutics be covered by insurers, this did not prevent coverage denial from happening. This indicates that the judicial rulings, which judged favorably 96.3% of the claims, fulfil an enforcement function regarding sectorial regulation on technology incorporation, as opposed to the hypothesis that judicialization would be an illegitimate via to access non- -covered health technologies. From this perspective, judicialization is an important instance of guaranteeing the right to health for private health insurance beneficiaries.