The Sunday Mail
Grace Kaerasora
GOVERNMENT has resumed issuing one year operating licences to medical aid societies as relations between the health care funders and doctors have improved.
Last year, a standoff ensued between medical aid societies and doctors with the latter accusing the health care funders of failing to pay for services rendered to patients.
The tiff prompted Government intervention, which tightened the screws on the medical aid societies, issuing short term licences.
Health and Child Care secretary Dr Gerald Gwinji told The Sunday Mail that major medical aid societies had been granted one-year operating licences.
“All major societies got their regular licences this year.
“In 2016, there were issues around payments to providers, so we intervened to have the situation corrected.
“We then issued periodic shorter licences to some of the societies which we have extended as we saw progress at the end of 2016.
“As we went into 2017, we were therefore reasonably assured that this progress would continue hence we reverted back to the normal year-long licences,” said Dr Gwinji.
However, Zimbabwe Medical Association (Zima) secretary-general Dr Shingi Bopoto, expressed disappointment over Government’s trust in medical aid societies.
“The Ministry continues to licence medical aid societies that are breaking the law including settlement period, so some are paying below the gazetted tariffs whilst some are not paying.
“We have asked the Ministry to make these licences and information public, but as an association we are very disappointed that people who break the law continue to get licences,” he said.
The Association of Health care Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ), which represents the medical aid society, had not responded to questions by the time of going to print.
Zima last year claimed that it was owed more than US$220 million in unpaid claim’s to medical aid societies.
