Road accidents hurt medical scheme, state
The Road Accident Fund faces huge claims as road death toll increased 5% over the 2016-17 festive season
Discovery Health Medical Scheme, SA’s largest medical aid provider, and the state’s Road Accident Fund (RAF) are paying dearly for SA’s high road death toll, which rose 5% over the 2016-17 festive season compared with a year ago. Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Tuesday more than 1,700 people died on the roads during the period. Many fatalities arose from cars overturning, or head-on collisions, which Peters blamed on unskilled drivers who had taken advantage of corruption at driving-licence testing centres. Those injured in these accidents are costing the state and medical schemes millions. "The RAF’s claims expenditure still remains unacceptably high at more than R32bn per annum, where each rand paid is a painful reminder of the extent to which lives are lost and people seriously injured on our roads," said Eugene Watson, the agency’s CE. The agency is funded through the fuel levy determined by the Treasury. For the 2015-16 financial year, the agency collected R33.2bn in le...
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