SOLVENCY RATIO CONCERNS
Unified medical scheme plan for public servants hits first big roadblock
The Council for Medical Schemes has hit its first stumbling block over its proposed consolidation of all the medical schemes for public servants with the Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems), after the Public Servants Association (PSA) said it had "serious reservations" about the plan. The measure is contained in a discussion document published by the council last week, and is in line with the government’s white paper on National Health Insurance (NHI). The PSA’s 242,000 members make up about a fifth of the public service. It said on Tuesday that Gems did not have the capacity to absorb more beneficiaries. "Gems needs to be cleaned up first," said PSA spokesperson Tahir Maepa.
The PSA has received numerous complaints about Gems, its solvency ratio was below the statutory requirement of 25% and it did not have the capacity to deal with rampant fraud, he said. Gems has about 1.8 million members and provides cover to more than half of all eligible public servants. It made h...
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