History

In 1998, in a context of the Health Sector in Portugal focused on the implementation of a series of recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with a view to ensuring its coverage, availability and sustainability and with around 20 years having elapsed since the implementation of the Portuguese National Health System (SNS), private entities (financiers, payers and providers) consolidated their role as operators.



Since then private operators have assumed a complementary and/or supplementary role to the SNS which was experiencing difficulties in meeting the transversal needs of the population, playing an ever more important role in said coverage, availability and sustainability of the Health Sector in Portugal.



Hence, and as a consequence of the enterprising spirit of our shareholders operating on the national market: Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade, Victoria Seguros and Espírito Santo Seguros, in 1998 a joint venture was set up between them and Munich Re and United HealthCare, multinational institutions with recognised know how in the Health sector. The five Institutions developed what was then only a project - AdvanceCare – Gestão de Serviços de Saúde S.A.



As its main objective the Project had the implementation of a platform specialised in Health Insurance management based on the technical and operating experience of the international partners and with strong culture and adaptation to the reality of the Portuguese market based on the tradition and experience of the shareholders operating on the national market.



Following the vision of its founders, AdvanceCare, two years after the start of its activity, added to its portfolio of Clients, up to that point their shareholders, the multinational Insurer Generali, following the insurers Axa, Lusitânia, Açoreana, Real, MGEN and Popular Seguros. Hence, it consolidated its image as an independent, even-handed operator between all its Clients.



After consolidating its experience in the management of the specific aspects and challenges inherent in the health insurance system, we took on the challenge of managing private health subsystems, implementing the necessary balance mechanisms between the social well-being and sustainability of said sub-systems.



In 2008, in view of the various dynamics of the national and international market, an adjustment was established to the shareholder component of AdvanceCare – Gestão de Serviços de Saúde S.A., henceforth being held by Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade and United HealthCare International B.V. and BES, Companhia de Seguros S.A..



In 2009, AdvanceCare, in a context of high fragmentation of the service provided by the various entities: Financiers/Payers; Providers; Regulators and Associations/Orders and in the ongoing quest to improve the service provided to the sector, it proceeded with Quality Certification ISO 9001: 2008 for all its services, being the sole platform, at this level, for managing Health Services in Portugal.



AdvanceCare remains loyal to the principles of its founders and shall maintain its commitment to incessantly seek to better serve its Stakeholders, implementing and applying its Vision, Mission, Values and Policies.