News / National
Nust students in health crisis
07 Aug 2017 at 01:33hrs | Views
STUDENTS at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) are being turned away from health institutions as a company managing their medical aid facility is not remitting funds to service providers.
Heritage Health Fund is allegedly not disbursing funds to service providers despite receiving remittances from Nust.
This has seen Nust students being turned away from hospitals and doctors among other service providers, although learners would have paid for medical aid cover.
Nust's director of communications and marketing Mr Felix Moyo confirmed the development saying the Heritage Health Fund has failed to meet its obligations.
Mr Moyo said the medical aid owes Nust nearly $92 000 as the university has been settling claims made by service providers.
"All we know is that Heritage Health Fund is no longer supporting our students according to our agreement. What we have been doing all along is that the students have been using that medical aid.
"And when the service providers file their claims Nust has been settling those claims and forwarding the same claims after settlement to Heritage (Health Fund) for them to reimburse Nust. Heritage (Health Fund) [now] owes us about $92 000 and they have not paid even a cent towards any of the claims," said Mr Moyo.
He said Nust was privately dealing with Heritage Health Fund over its failure to meet its obligations.
"To begin with, you use good faith hoping that people understand that they have an obligation and they will meet their obligation. And you get to a point where you say people are not meeting their obligation. At that stage that's where you get to a decision and unfortunately I'm not at liberty to give you the details of that decision," said Mr Moyo.
He appealed to service providers to continue providing medical services to Nust students saying the university will foot the bills.
"But our appeal to service providers is that they should not disadvantage our students because we want them to know that it is Nust which has been settling those claims not Heritage (Health Fund)," he said.
An official at Heritage Health Fund who answered a telephone call professed ignorance over the matter.
"I'm hearing this for first time from you. I don't know what you are talking about," he said before hanging up.
Last month, first year students at Hillside Teachers' College in Bulawayo locked their lecturers out of their offices and shut the college's clinic in protest over alleged poor health care offered by Corporate24 Medical Aid Society, the institution's health insurer.
Heritage Health Fund is allegedly not disbursing funds to service providers despite receiving remittances from Nust.
This has seen Nust students being turned away from hospitals and doctors among other service providers, although learners would have paid for medical aid cover.
Nust's director of communications and marketing Mr Felix Moyo confirmed the development saying the Heritage Health Fund has failed to meet its obligations.
Mr Moyo said the medical aid owes Nust nearly $92 000 as the university has been settling claims made by service providers.
"All we know is that Heritage Health Fund is no longer supporting our students according to our agreement. What we have been doing all along is that the students have been using that medical aid.
"And when the service providers file their claims Nust has been settling those claims and forwarding the same claims after settlement to Heritage (Health Fund) for them to reimburse Nust. Heritage (Health Fund) [now] owes us about $92 000 and they have not paid even a cent towards any of the claims," said Mr Moyo.
"To begin with, you use good faith hoping that people understand that they have an obligation and they will meet their obligation. And you get to a point where you say people are not meeting their obligation. At that stage that's where you get to a decision and unfortunately I'm not at liberty to give you the details of that decision," said Mr Moyo.
He appealed to service providers to continue providing medical services to Nust students saying the university will foot the bills.
"But our appeal to service providers is that they should not disadvantage our students because we want them to know that it is Nust which has been settling those claims not Heritage (Health Fund)," he said.
An official at Heritage Health Fund who answered a telephone call professed ignorance over the matter.
"I'm hearing this for first time from you. I don't know what you are talking about," he said before hanging up.
Last month, first year students at Hillside Teachers' College in Bulawayo locked their lecturers out of their offices and shut the college's clinic in protest over alleged poor health care offered by Corporate24 Medical Aid Society, the institution's health insurer.
Source - chronicle
