MARCH 31 DEADLINE
Health insurers get temporary reprieve from demarcation regulations
Firms have lobbied against the regulations, saying they would deprive low-income workers of their access to private healthcare
The government has given health insurance companies selling primary healthcare and hospital indemnity products a temporary reprieve from the demarcation regulations, which come into effect on April 1. These regulations have threatened insurers selling these products because they are deemed to be doing the business of a medical scheme but fail to meet their legal requirements. Firms selling these products have lobbied against the regulations, saying they would deprive low-income workers of their access to private healthcare. The regulations state that the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) must develop a low-cost benefit option framework that would enable registration of these products within two years. To deal with this transition, the CMS yesterday published an exemption framework to the demarcation regulations. Providers of indemnity products that conduct the business of a medical scheme have until March 31 to apply to the CMS for a two-year exemption, after which the products are ...
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