HARARE – The Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) has said it is still accepting PSMAS Medical aid cards in its health facilities but indicated that service providers may charge varying co-payments and shortfalls depending on the service.
This comes after several disgruntled PSMAS members had taken to social media expressing displeasure over the rejection of their medical aid cards by PSMAS health facilities.
Some said they were being requested to pay for services including admission in United States Dollars terms. The amount ranges from US$100 to US$250 depending on the service, they alleged.
The bulk of PSMAS membership comprise of civil servants and the recent development where certain services are being levied in foreign currency may hinder the chances of accessing quality healthcare services for members.
PSMAS Communications and Stakeholder Relations Manager, Ms Paidamoyo Chipunza said PSMAS is a medical aid that pays for services rendered to its members by any service provider accepting its card, including PSMI.
“We reimburse for the services using AHFoZ tariffs but service providers may charge varying co-payments and shortfalls depending on the cost of their services,” Chipunza said.
She added that the medical aid society was in talks with the government seeking to review their tariffs in a manner that would see members getting uninterrupted quality healthcare services.
“With regards to the sustainability of current monthly premiums, for the public sector, there are ongoing engagements with the Government for a subscription review, and there are positive indications that an agreement will have arrived at soon. With regards to the private sector, reviews are done in response to both inflation and exchange rate movements from time to time. In both instances, the Society’s desire is members’ subscriptions to be commensurate with expected member benefits,” she said.
PSMAS members are currently paying a monthly amount subscription rate of US$10.00 which according to economists is no longer feasible.
All along, the government has been paying 80% (US$8.00) of the tariff for civil servants, while the civil servant has been paying the remaining 20% (US$2.00).
For PSMAS to remain viable, however, executives in the organization believe the ideal subscriptions would be US$30 for the main plan, US$60 for the premier plan, and US$90 for the prestige plan every month.
It is however unclear whether the fresh talks between the government and the medical aid provider would see a sub-increase in government contributions to PSMAS or whether the government would pay 80% of the increased tariffs from the current US$10.00.
Sources from PSMAS who spoke to this publication said a sub increase in contributions from the government would go a long way in increasing member benefits.
