HEALTHCARE
Medical aid schemes in poor health, council warns
Net result for all medical schemes shows a deficit of R2.391bn in 2016, the Council of Medical Schemes report reveals
Worsening claims ratios and climbing healthcare costs have resulted in SA’s medical aid schemes facing a multimillion-rand deficit, the Council of Medical Schemes (CMS) 2016 annual report showed last week. The council regulates 82 schemes including a total of 22 open schemes and 60 restricted schemes. The private healthcare system provides services for about 16% of the population. The CMS report revealed that nearly 62% of the restricted schemes had a R1.435bn deficit, while 78.3% of the open schemes incurred a total deficit of R955.7m, up from R539.6m in 2015. The net healthcare result for all medical schemes combined reflected a deficit of R2.391bn in 2016.
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