The National Supplementary Health Agency (Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar - ANS) formalized the creation of an Internal Committee dedicated to studying discount cards, prepaid products, and related services through Order PRESI No. 8, dated April 28, 2026, published in the Federal Official Gazette on April 29. The initiative will enable a critical, multidisciplinary analysis of the technical, care-related, legal, economic, social, and regulatory aspects of the topic, with the aim of informing the Collegiate Board’s decision-making. The measure follows the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça - STJ) in AgInt in AREsp 2.183.704/SP, which recognized and affirmed ANS authority to regulate and supervise discount cards for health services.
Internal committee: composition, coordination, and timeframe
The planned structure comprises two staff members nominated by each of ANS’s five Directorates — Sector Development Directorate (Diretoria de Desenvolvimento Setorial - DIDES), Directorate of Standards and Operator Accreditation (Diretoria de Normas e Habilitação das Operadoras - DIOPE), Directorate of Standards and Product Accreditation (Diretoria de Normas e Habilitação dos Produtos - DIPRO), Directorate of Supervision (Diretoria de Fiscalização - DIFIS), and Directorate of Management (Diretoria de Gestão - DIGES) - in addition to two representatives of the Presidency. Coordination will rest with the Presidency’s representatives, placing them at the center of steering the work and cross-cutting coordination among technical areas.
The Internal Committee will operate for 90 days, with the possibility of a one-time extension for an equivalent period, counted from the date of publication. The order allows extraordinary, ad hoc invitations to external experts of recognized technical caliber, without formally integrating them into the Committee.
Analytical scope: business models, impacts, and health data
The study plan set by ANS covers (i) the characterization of operational and economic models already observed in the discount card market and related offerings; (ii) the assessment of the legal nature and core activity of the providers, such as network managers, financial institutions, and autonomous social service organizations, among other structures; and (iii) the format of access to services, including intermediation mechanisms, scheduling, use of the provider network, and the user experience.
There is also a directive to assess the feasibility of integrating and standardizing care data within the National Health Data Network (Rede Nacional de Dados em Saúde - RNDS), a platform maintained by the Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde - MS), in line with public health policies, which connects sectoral regulation and data governance.
Initial guidelines for future regulation
Order PRESI No. 8 already previews lines ANS intends to follow when issuing rules on the operation and commercialization of these products. The text prohibits (i) the use of a name or brand alluding to a health plan operator by a company offering a discount card or related service, even if part of the same corporate group; and (ii) the use of the same Brazilian Corporate Taxpayer Registry (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica - CNPJ) as that of an operator registered with ANS.
In the field of communications, no advertising element, brand, term, or visual identity will be permitted if it may mislead consumers as to the nature of the service, including where it suggests coverage or a guarantee typical of a health plan. The order also notes that operational segregation must be ensured and demonstrable, especially where a company within the same corporate group also acts as a regulated operator.
The Life Sciences & Healthcare practice can provide more information on this topic.
