A majority of justices on Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided on Thursday (1) that health insurance operators may apply age-based price adjustments to contracts signed before the Elderly Statute (Estatuto do Idoso) took effect in December 2003. The score stood at 6 to 4, but the trial was suspended before the final result was proclaimed, which means no change applies to consumers at this point.
What is confirmed so far is that a majority exists. What remains open is the scope of the decision. At the request of the rapporteur, Justice Dias Toffoli, the case will be sent to the court's dispute resolution chamber together with another case on the same subject. The justices want to hear from the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS), the regulator of private health plans, to understand the impacts of the decision and adjust its modulation, meaning which contracts and situations the rule will cover. According to Folha de S.Paulo, the conciliation round is also expected to hear representatives of insurers and consumer defense groups.
The Elderly Statute, in force since December 30, 2003, bans health plans from charging different prices based on age. For contracts signed after that date, the last age bracket became 59 and over. The question before the court is whether that protection also reaches older contracts. The case, known as ADC 90, was filed by the National Confederation of Insurance Companies (CNseg), which argued that several courts apply the statute retroactively and bar monthly fee adjustments when a beneficiary turns 60. A separate appeal with general repercussion status is also pending, so the final decision will guide all similar cases across the Brazilian judiciary.
How the justices voted
Following Toffoli, who voted to allow adjustments on contracts predating the statute, were justices Andre Mendonça, Cristiano Zanin, Nunes Marques, Luiz Fux and Gilmar Mendes. Gilmar added a caveat: in his view, the statute's protection applies to old contracts provided they were renewed after the law took effect. Voting to prohibit the adjustment were Flavio Dino, who opened the dissent, Alexandre de Moraes, Carmen Lucia and Edson Fachin.
Dino argued that the protection covers anyone who turned 60 after January 1, 2004, even under an older contract:
"The moment a person turns 60, the Elderly Statute protects them, by force of the constitutional mandate in article 230. Ah, but the health plan contract was signed before. Yes, but the protection begins the moment they are considered elderly," the justice said, according to G1.
The trial began in the court's virtual plenary in August 2025, moved to the physical plenary after a request by Dino and was interrupted again by a review request from Moraes, who returned the case and voted on Thursday.
What changes for consumers
For now, nothing. Because the trial was suspended and the ANS has yet to be heard, existing contracts remain as they are. It is worth remembering that Brazilian health plans have two types of adjustment: the age-bracket adjustment, which is under discussion, and the annual adjustment, based on costs and claims, which is not part of this case. Consumers with contracts signed before 2004 should follow the resumption of the trial and the ANS position. For contracts signed after 2004, nothing changes: the current rule, with the last age bracket at 59 and over, remains in force.