Vision of the future

Data shows an imbalance in the Brazilian hospital operation, with successive losses of private hospital units and beds in recent years. In 2022, 202 private hospitals were opened, while 139 closed down given the challenges and difficulties of keeping a hospital running.

Added to this, healthcare insurance carriers continued to record negative results, totaling BRL 4.5 million, according to a report by the Brazilian Association of Healthcare Plans — Abramge, in Portuguese (Cenário da Saúde publication, volume 8 no. 4). The data, however, already shows a recovery over the previous year, driven by an increase in the number of beneficiaries (expected to grow by 1.6% in 2023, to 51.2 million people) and improved management models (reducing expenses, reviewing processes), as well as the growing use of analytics, artificial intelligence, among other tools.

From a macroeconomic stance, the Brazilian scenario remained challenging in 2023 but saw the start of an upturn in the level of economic activity. Greater acquisition of services has led to an expansion in this segment’s activities. Traditionally a high employer, the sector boosted the labor market, which contributed to GDP closing the year up by 2.9%, slightly above the forecast. As a result, Brazil was ranked among the Top 20 largest economies in the world in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Inflation, as measured by the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA, in Portuguese) — the government’s official rate —, closed 2023 with an accumulated increase of 4.62%, within the inflation target range determined by the National Monetary Council (CMN, in Portuguese), which was 3.25% (inflation was 5.6% in 2022). The unemployment rate ended the year at an average of 8%, showing that most of the population is employed, which contributes positively to the recovery of the economy and, consequently, to spending with healthcare.