Mugabe to PSMAS' rescue

President Mugabe yesterday evoked Presidential Powers to protect Premier Service Medical Aid Society's property from being attached by service providers who are suing for debts that run into millions of dollars. The move means the service providers will not be able to attach the society's property and have to seek other means to recover their money.

According to Statutory Instrument 77 of 2015 gazetted yesterday in terms of the Presidential Powers, Chapter 8:14 of the State Liabilities Act, which prohibits issuance of attachment orders on State property, PSMAS is now protected by the provisions.

"The State Liabilities Act Chapter 8:14 applies with necessary changes to legal proceedings against Premier Service Medical Aid Society, a medical aid society registered under the Medical Service Act (chapter 15:13), including the substitution of references therein to a Minister by reference to the board," reads the Statutory Instrument.

"These regulations apply to proceedings against Premier Service Medical Aid Society that are pending on the date of commencement of these regulations."

PSMAS managing director Mr Henry Mandishona yesterday said while the SI was a positive development in rebuilding the medical aid society, this did not mean that they would not meet their financial obligations to service providers.

"As we get money from our members, we will continue to pay our service providers," he said. "Therefore, the application of this legal instrument does not evade responsibility to pay up claims.

"The latest development will give the society breathing space to implement a raft of measures meant to restore the society to international best practices of claims ratio of 80 percent, administration 15 percent and reserve five percent."

Mr Mandishona said he was working to bring back the society to a sustainable and viable state in line with the transformation strategy developed by the interim management team and staff.

He said the critical pillars of the strategy were to arrest the astronomical growth in claims, which he attributed to high costs of medical services in Zimbabwe compared to elsewhere in the region and fraudulent claims, among others.

Mr Mandishona said PSMAS was also working on introducing wellness programmes with a view of shifting the psychology of membership from curative interventions to preventive well being.

"To that end, there may be a need of a medical forensic audit on the current outstanding bill to providers," he said. "It needs to be re-visited because internationally, about 40 percent of medical bills are fraudulent."

The society's debt has since ballooned to over $144 million and it has so far processed claims amounting to about $571 million since dollarisation in 2009.

"So, we are confident that in the event of a medical forensic audit, our outstanding bill to service providers could be reduced by about 50 percent," said Mr Mandishona.

He said PSMAS will also be rolling out a point of sale system and training of claims assessors and drug processors to eliminate fraud risk.

Some of the changes expected to save costs include reviewing claim forms, waiting periods after a member joins the society and reviewing of the drug facility controls.

In the long term, Mr Mandishona said, the society was devising ways of mobilising funds to bridge the financial gap whilst the society's creditors were also making payment plans.

Application of the State Liabilities Act on PSMAS is the first strategic stroke under the leadership of Mr Mandishona meant to stabilise the society.

For the past 12 months, PSMAS was operating under an interim management following revelations of mega salaries at a time the society was failing to pay service providers.

This resulted in the self dissolution of the then board of management, forced retirement of the society's group chief executive, Dr Cuthbert Dube and restructuring of the society.