Geap Self-Management in Health turns 77 with a strengthened credibility in the market of health plans. The Foundation has experienced a period of management modernization, starting from 2019, to reverse the strong economic-financial crisis and overcome the possibility of bankruptcy in a few years.
When he took over, in 2019, the board applied a series of urgent measures for the sanitation and sustainability of the operator. “When we arrived, under the leadership of our then CEO Ricardo Figueiredo, Geap was in the fiscal direction established by the ANS. At the same time that we faced a great challenge, we saw an opportunity to transform Geap into a reference in the market”, explains the current CEO of the Foundation, Pablo Gontijo.
For five years (from 2015 to 2020) Geap was subjected to the special tax management regime, a mechanism set up by the National Integrative Health Agency (ANS) for those health professionals who present “serious economic and financial imbalances”. To remedy this scenario, in just one year, the council has taken several actions, such as cutting expenses, unnecessary contract cancellations and audit expansion.
financial sustainability
The management has concentrated its efforts on the evolution of the results in view of the needs of the regulatory body to guarantee the economic and financial health of the Foundation. The numbers demonstrate the continuous improvement of Geap’s result, as evidenced by the financial director of the operator, Claudio Lopes Barbosa. “From 2017 to 2022, the company’s financial health improved significantly, going from a negative result of 388 million reais to a positive amount of more than 1.9 billion reais, which represents a significant expansion to support the his expenses”, details.
Among the operator’s resource management actions, an investment policy was created. “Thinking of strengthening the financial security of the Foundation, in accordance with our corporate governance, we have created an investment commission, which has well-defined rules, focused on maintaining financial reserves, without neglecting sustainability”, underlines Claudio.
Geap’s performance was highlighted in the Yearbook Época Negócios 360º 2022. The operator achieved 4th place in “Financial Performance” in the Health sector ranking, which evaluated 26 companies from all over Brazil. Criteria such as: financial health, balance sheet and indicators and issues relating to the topic most discussed by leadership were considered.
Small retouches and accredited quality mesh
Thanks to the restructuring of the accounts and management efficiency, which made it possible to reverse the economic result in favor of the beneficiary, in a sustainable way, the company achieved, in 2022, the lowest realignment of plans since 2013. With the application of the 2.26% adjustment, Geap remained well below the index set by the ANS, which reached 15.5%. As a non-profit organization, the Foundation reinforces the mission of investing resources in improving the services provided for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Another important factor to promote the satisfaction of the beneficiaries is to provide a diversified, reliable, complete and accredited quality network, guaranteeing sustainability without compromising the result in the provision of services. In 2022, more than 774 new providers were accredited, including 27 hospitals. Today, Geap has over 15,500 suppliers across the country.
“In the accredited part of the network the focus is not on expansion, but on investment in the network itself. This consists not only in expanding the number of suppliers, but, above all, in taking care of the quality of assistance”, says Pablo. “The work is done by the accreditation process, when we have established a partnership with our suppliers, through regulation, simplifying billing authorization procedures, in which we guarantee payment for the services provided. The result of this process is a satisfied supplier and a well served beneficiary.”
These combined factors helped reverse the decline in Geap’s beneficiary portfolio that had been occurring for years. “The minor adjustments and the quality of the network led to the satisfaction of the beneficiaries, who consequently brought Geap back on the growth curve”, he underlines.
New agreements and expansion of the beneficiary portfolio
The council’s strategy also includes the conquest of new sponsors, i.e. public bodies accredited to the Geap. Several new agreements were signed in 2022, with a particular focus on judicial bodies. During the period, the Courts of Justice of the states of Paraná (TJPR), Roraima (TJRR), Rondônia (TJRO), Amazonas (TJAM) and Tocantins (TJTO), the Regional Labor Court of Santa Catarina (TRT/SC), the Regional Electoral Tribunal of Ceará (TRE/CE), among other judicial bodies.
Another consequence of the sanitation management work was the partnership signed with ANS. As an agency that deals with the regulation, standardization, control and inspection of the activities of health plans in Brazil, the accession to the GEAP agreement with the Union reaffirms the credibility of the Foundation.
In total, the new partnerships have the potential to claim more than 12,000 lives and bolster Geap’s portfolio growth.
Reliable organizational climate
The appreciation of employees and a healthy and positive work environment is also a source of pride for Geap. Since 2020, the company has been carrying the seal of excellent company to work for, through the GPTW (Great Place To Work) certification program. In 2022, the Foundation achieved the best result, with a score of 89. “All these changes have only been possible because we have started a process of rebuilding from the inside out, investing in the organizational climate and valuing our employees. Proof of this was the renewal of the certificate for the 3rd consecutive year”, boasts Pablo Gontijo.
Given the positive numbers and with the important milestones achieved in recent years, Geap Saúde is establishing itself even more in the health plan market and should follow the growth curve in the coming years, is what Pablo predicts. “Geap has a great responsibility. We have nearly 280,000 lives of Brazilian civil servants and their families as beneficiaries. These people make us have a daily need for evolution and this is our goal every day. With intelligent, efficient and human management it is possible to reap the benefits and offer an excellent service and this is what we plan for the next few years”.
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