DOCTORS’ THREAT: NO NEED TO PANIC, SWAZIMED TO MEMBERS

MBABANE - SwaziMed has reassured its members not to panic following the decision by private doctors to stop accepting SwaziMed medical aid from July 23.

SwaziMed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Simelane urged members not to be worried as they were working on mitigating factors to deal with the issue. Simelane said they were putting measures in place to deal with the issue and it would be communicated to the members, accordingly. The private doctors, through the Eswatini Private Doctors Association (EPDA), announced that SwaziMed members would be required to pay for outpatient consultations and professional fees upfront in cash, with the option to seek reimbursement from the medical aid fund thereafter.

The decision comes against the backdrop of another statement where EPDA informed members of the public, especially members of the three country's medical aid schemes; namely SwaziMed, Oracle, and Lidwala, that requiring members of these medical aid schemes to pay cash for consultation and minor procedures was rescinded. EPDA said this was because of the positive and friendly negotiations and agreements reached with Oracle and Lidwala managements, while the SwaziMed Board, to which the association appealed, was actively looking into the matter.

EPDA further stated that the negotiations with medical aid schemes aimed to have Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that would improve the quality, access and equity of health services to members, in line with the Ministry of Health Universal Health Coverage Strategy. An impeccable source within the medical aid scheme told this publication that this resolution did not involve all private doctors, but only a few. The source said this was reportedly advocated by some foreign doctors, which leaves a lot of questions about the survival of local doctors.

dding, the source told this publication that the doctors needed to be reminded about their practice numbers issued by SwaziMed. The source explained that the practice numbers allowed them to accept medical aid in the country. According to the source, the doctors who formed part of the alleged resolution risk having their practice numbers revoked by SwaziMed and that would affect their survival. “How will they live going forward if they do not have the practice numbers?” the source questioned. Furthermore, the source took a swipe at the doctors’ association, alleging that it was an illegal body that was not registered with government.

The source told this publication that within government, there was the Medical and Dental Council which grants licences to doctors to operate in the country. The source mentioned that there was also a Medical and Dental Association, which is a legal body formed and registered with government to represent doctors. According to the source, there was no other association for doctors.The source stated that the association said to be representing private doctors was allegedly a union, which was illegal and mostly included foreign doctors.
SwaziMed is a Section 21 company, registered as a non-profit making open-scheme which was formed in 1980.  Membership cards are accepted by all local service providers (hospitals, doctors and most pharmacies) and widely accepted in South Africa. The scheme is self-administered.

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