The Sunday Mail
Business Reporter —
DEBT collectors that are working on behalf of aggrieved hospital concern Corporate 24 (C24) have so far recovered more than US$37 000 of the US$98 000 owed by Cimas Medical Aid subscribers as the two-year tiff between the two business continues unabated.
The dues cover the period between June 2015 and March 29, 2016. However, C24 is owed more than US$500 000 in unpaid claims from June 2015 to the current date.
Information gathered by The Sunday Mail Business indicate that by the end of February 2016, C24 was owed more than US$175 00 for ER procedures, US$66 000 for laboratory services, US$11 000 for administration and US$22 000 for radiology services.
Cimas, which cut ties with the medical services business after a dispute over claims, is now directing its subscribers who are clients to C24 to pay cash for their medical bills before crediting their accounts.
“Please note that Cimas paid Corporate 24 for all our members that were served prior to March 29 2016.
“Meanwhile, all attendees at Corporate 24 must be paid for in cash by members and claims forms submitted for reimbursement. Any changes to this position will be communicated to you directly by Cimas,” noted the medical aid service provider in a circular that is has been circulated to its clients.
C24, which recently opened a US$3 million hospital in Bulawayo, believes that it has been left in a pickle since the law makes it illegal for service providers to demand cash upfront for valid medical aid cardholders.
The misnomer, where subscribers are expected to pay, has also been criticised for being unfair, especially for expensive medical procedures that subscribers cannot readily afford.
Though Cimas has credited its subscribers for medical bills accrued between June and March 29, 2016, C24 is still battling to recover its money.
Government threatened to withdraw Cimas’ operating licence in May 2016 for allegedly violating the law and defying Government directives.
However, High Court judge Justice November Mtshiya set aside the decision. Cimas claimed that the forensic audit into purportedly fraudulent was supposed to bring the issue to a close.
Grant Thornton of South Africa has since completed the audit, which has since been forwarded to the regulator – Government.
But authorities are working on reforms that will ultimately lead to an independent board that will oversee operations in the sector.
Even though Cimas also clashed with the National Physicians Association of Zimbabwe, the Hospital Doctors Association of Zimbabwe and the Retail Pharmacists’ Association of Zimbabwe (RPA) over its reluctance to honour claims in 2015, it is the dispute with Corporate 24 that has been the most brutal.
Medical aid subscribers feel that Government has to protect them even more since many of them have low disposable incomes.
Of late, there have been rising cases of unfair and illegal practices in the medical insurance business.
