Performance of health plan operators: before and during the pandemic

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the economic-financial and operational performance of Health Plan Operators (HPO), before (3Q2018-4Q2019) and during the pandemic (1Q2020-2Q2021) under the theory of institutional isomorphism.
 Method: This is descriptive documentary research that uses statistical techniques to compare medians (Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis) and correlation (Spearman) between performance and socioeconomic indicators, considering the five Health Plan Operators (HPO) with the largest number of beneficiaries.
 Results: A statistically significant reduction was observed, after the beginning of the pandemic, for the indicators of profitability, expenses, cost variation, and financial result. On the other hand, there was a growth in current liquidity and an increase in the mean receipt timeframe of payments (CRPM) and event payment (APTE). The performance comparison shows that in the pandemic, profitability and APTE were no longer significantly different. As for the association between the variables, the unemployment rate shows the highest number of relationships with the performance levels.
 Theoretical/methodological contributions: Highlights the performance of the five largest OPS, considering the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic period, considering that these companies can be directly affected by the potential increase in demand for health care by their beneficiaries. By the theoretical prism of institutional isomorphism, these companies are references for the sector.