I HAD hoped that the Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems) would prove me wrong about its deteriorating financial position. Earlier this week, I reported that abnormally high claims in the first half of 2016 have had a serious effect on the scheme’s reserves, and that its current solvency ratio could be as low as 5%. This is worrying for its 1.8-million beneficiaries who will face higher contributions and reduced benefits.Unfortunately, Gems has so far been unwilling to put the rumours to bed and reveal the extent to which its reserves have declined so far this year.I asked the scheme’s principal officer, Guni Goolab, twice — once in writing and once over the phone — if he would tell me what the scheme’s current solvency ratio was. On both occasions, he avoided answering the question, other than to say that at the end of 2015, the solvency ratio was 9.46%.Similarly, when Midday Report radio host Stephen Grootes asked Goolab about the scheme’s current solvency levels, he ducked ...
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