The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE should work on its own National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) so that the elderly can benefit, instead of leaving them to suffer because most private medical aid service providers do not cover them as they are considered a high risk.This was said by Dr Ruth Labode, the chairperson for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health, in an interview with the Sunday News on the plight of the elderly in Zimbabwe.
A survey by The Sunday News established that most medical aid societies do not cater for new applicants that are above 60 as the total claims in this age group are in excess of the contributions collected.
“Zimbabwe needs to work on its NHIS so that it will cover everyone without discrimination against a certain group of people. The societies that refuse to accept the elderly are justified,” said Dr Labode.
Dr Labode said medical aid was just like life insurance where it is difficult to accept the very old as they would be a huge risk to the society as they are susceptible to illness due to their ages.
“It is ok for the medical aid society to have a cut-off age because they realise that the old people’s risk of dying is very high and they have many claims so it becomes a real challenge for them but it is now an opportunity to work on our own scheme that will benefit everyone,” she said.
The Minister of Health and Child Care is on record saying a huge percentage of Zimbabweans are not on medical aid and that a mechanism would be put in place for everybody including villagers to contribute towards the NHIS.
NSSA had argued at the time that the private health schemes only covered 30 percent of the workers, leaving the remaining 70 percent uninsured, and without access to affordable treatment in the event of a health crisis.
Critics, however, said workers were already burdened with a National Aids Levy, and argued that another deduction towards the national scheme would leave workers poorer.
Most of the country’s large medical aid providers have an age limit for people who want to join, meaning that the elderly are left out.
“Cimas offers medical aid to all people who are eligible; there is no discrimination on age, race or disease profile. The cut-off age for members joining the Society for the first time is 59 years. However, pensioners that are more than 60 years not only have the option to continue with their membership but if they have served as members of the Society for 10 years or more they are eligible for a 40 percent discount on our Private Hospital Package,” a Cimas official said.
He said the medical aid concept entailed that members pool resources and in most cases 20 percent of the members consume 80 percent of funds. The society operates as a mutual benefit organisation of members who pool their resources in order to get assistance from the fund in time of need.
According to the official, empirical evidence indicated that as people grew older they required more medical attention hence it becomes expensive for the fund to look after those above 59 joining for the first time, especially considering the fact that they would not have contributed to the fund during their healthy days. They, therefore, were a cost to members that would have contributed to the fund for a long time.
Nine percent of its membership is above the age of 56. Additionally, the Society actively encourages the public to join medical aid in their “productive or healthy years” and contribute to the fund to ensure that they are also covered in their later years.
A few medical aid societies, however, said they had open policies where they accept people of all ages.
The Association of Health Funders of Zimbabwe (AFHoZ) chief executive officer, Mrs Shylet Sanyanga, said there was no discrimination against the aged.
She said before benefiting from the funds, one had to have been contributing. Pensioners who would have been on medical aid are charged pensioner rates which take this into consideration.
“As people grow older their health deteriorates and they usually require medical attention, hence the need for them to have joined earlier. If they are to join when they are now in the risky category (old age), the subscriptions would be very steep based on the risk involved,” she added.
On the issue of medical aid societies fearing losses by enrolling new but elderly people, she said they were justified.
“Medical aid societies declining those joining for the first time in advanced age are doing so to protect the funds of those who would have been contributing. Medical aid societies therefore do not segregate against the elderly but people should join earlier to contribute into the pool,” she added.
Many medical aid societies under AHFoZ have pensioners on their membership registers that they offer discounted rates while some medical aid societies do not collect subscriptions from their member pensioners over 65.
Another challenge the elderly are facing is that of paying administration fees at central hospitals.
A Bulawayo man who refused to be named said he was made to pay an administration fee of a dollar at Mpilo for his 72-year-old father.
“I took my father to Mpilo and I was told that if I do not pay that money he will not be treated. Others were turned away as they did not have the money yet they were very ill patients,” he said.
The chief executive officer for Mpilo Hospital, Dr Lawrence Mantiziba, defended the administration fees, saying it was an innovation to raise funds for the running of the hospital.
“Yes, we have introduced an administration fee of just $1 to cater for administration expenses such as stationery. Anyone whether over 65 or what has to pay that money,” he said.
Dr Mantiziba said they had to find means to raise funds for the hospital and this was also happening across many central hospitals in the country as they sought to revive sinking institutions.
He said they would rather collect a dollar than to watch hospitals sinking before their eyes.
“You have to be innovative for you to survive, we cannot watch hospitals crumble when we can try something,” he said.
