Zimbabwe doctors decry 'discriminatory' medical aid practices

Medical practitioners have raised concern over what they describe as discriminatory practices by some medical aid societies, following reports that healthcare providers are being rejected or blocked from joining major insurance panels.

Emails seen by this publication show some applicants being told that insurers were "currently not accepting new service providers," while others were rejected after internal assessments, sparking accusations of unfair exclusion.

President of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association, Johannes Marisa, strongly criticised the developments, accusing certain medical aid societies of sidelining independent practitioners.

"This behaviour, where medical aid societies segregate against practitioners seeking to join their payment platforms, is unethical and unacceptable. It is barbaric and against the tenets of good practice," he said.

Marisa warned that restrictive provider panels undermine patients' rights to access healthcare services of their choice.

"Every patient has the freedom to seek treatment from a doctor or service provider of their choice. When a medical aid rejects providers like that, it is wrong. It should not be allowed," he said.

Medical aid provider panels consist of approved doctors, specialists, pharmacies and hospitals whose services are covered by insurance schemes. Exclusion from these panels can significantly reduce patient numbers for private practitioners, as many Zimbabweans rely on medical aid to access care.

Marisa also pointed to potential conflicts of interest, alleging that some medical aid societies operate their own healthcare facilities while simultaneously controlling which external providers are allowed to treat insured patients.

"Medical aid societies must stick to their mandate of providing health insurance, not healthcare services. They run their own clinics and then block other doctors from treating patients under their schemes. That is a clear conflict of interest," he said.

He called for urgent reforms to the regulatory framework, specifically advocating amendments to Statutory Instrument 330 of 2000, which governs medical aid societies.

"We are calling for a complete and urgent amendment of SI 330 of 2000. The law must prohibit medical aid societies from running healthcare facilities," Marisa said.

The controversy comes at a time when Zimbabwe's healthcare system is under increasing strain from rising treatment costs, staff shortages and growing dependence on private sector services.