If the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill is introduced in its current form, trouble could be looming for the medical aids, hospitals, suppliers and medical aid administrators paid for by medical funds. The bill, unveiled by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Thursday, proposes, among other things, banning co-payments for medical-aid members and increasing the number of medical conditions that medical aids must cover. The anxiety in the industry was evident by the fact that at a press briefing on Thursday there were more people representing medical aids, administrators and doctors than journalists. Motsoaledi's proposals aim to cut costs to consumers but analysts warned this could destabilise medical aids, leaving less money for private healthcare, which is accessed by 8.8-million South Africans using medical schemes. Dr Graham Anderson, principal officer at Profmed, said medical aids could not afford to cover costs in full and damaging them would have a negative knock-on effect on pri...
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