20 February 2020
The ruling handed down this week by the Council for Medical Schemes against Discovery Health Medical Scheme is a welcome development. The ruling exposes greed and medical aid schemes that continue to swindle people by refusing to pay for their treatment, arguing that it is ‘scientifically unproven’ and ‘not offered’ in public hospitals or is not covered under prescribed minimum benefits. Discovery’s reliance on these ‘grounds’ to refuse paying for medical treatment for the affected patient is one of the many crocked machinations used by medical aid schemes.
Contrary to Discovery’s arguments, the treatment prescribed by a qualified specialist medical practitioner that the medical aid scheme refused to pay for is in fact covered under prescribed minimum benefits, according to the ruling. Instead of supporting medical treatment, many medical aid schemes have been repurposed and are pursuing exploitation of members’ funds for private wealth accumulation.
Healthcare is a right enshrined in section 27 of our Constitution. The right should be respected. Too often medical aid schemes toss this constitutional provision aside. This has resulted, on the one hand, in an increasing number of patients with medical aid cover who go without treatment, often to their death, and, on the other hand, the immense accumulation of funds in profits by private interests that exploit medical aid schemes.
The SACP reiterates its call for the speedy implementation of the National Health Insurance to deliver quality health care for all. The health of the people should not be turned into a commodity for profit maximisation.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY | SACP
EST. 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA | CPSA
Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo
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