CCZ calls for medical aid societies probe

THE Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has called for an investigation of some medical aid schemes that are allegedly violating consumer rights by demanding payment in foreign currency only and unjustifiably increasing prices.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the recent 14th edition of the Association of Health Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) annual stakeholders conference in Victoria Falls, CCZ executive director Mrs Rosemary Shumirayi Chikarakara-Mpofu said consumers were unhappy with the conduct of some medical aid societies and their schemes.

She noted in particular the issue of unjustified increases in tariffs and contributions in the United States dollar. Mrs Chikarakara-Mpofu was presenting on the need to prioritise and deliver affordable quality healthcare where she said Zimbabweans have a tendency to “just hike” prices without justifiable reasons.

“What consumers are expressing is very painful. We need to interrogate medical aid societies and service providers. These are sentiments coming from consumers,” she said.

Mrs Chikarakara-Mpofu encouraged both service providers and consumers to familiarise themselves with the Consumer Protection Act, which she said is there to protect users of services, adding that access to information is key to quality service.

“The law has been there since 2017 and it’s only now that it’s being implemented. Let’s get acquainted with the Act because consumers have been ripped off for a long time. It’s important that as medical aid societies, we get to understand what we are supposed to do to consumers,” she said.

“Consumers are not given information about medical aid schemes and employees are also not given the opportunity to choose the schemes they need as the employer would simply give them forms to sign for a certain provider. The consumer has a right to information so they can make informed decisions.”

Mrs Chikarakara-Mpofu appealed to service providers to consider the economic situation when pegging prices and that the United States dollar was a stable currency hence there is no need to hike fees on that unit.

“What boggles consumers’ minds is that most service providers charge in United States dollars for services, and when suppliers’ costs increase even temporarily, service providers immediately increase charges but when the opposite happens, there is no decrease,” she said.

“There is no reason why people should clamour to increase United States dollar tariffs. The problem with Zimbabweans is that we believe that after some time, we just have to increase prices. We are creating inflation unnecessarily. It’s unjustifiable.”

Some participants, however, defended the increases saying United States dollar tariffs were last revised in 2014.

They said people pay in local currency and service is rendered in United States dollar terms because suppliers demand payment in foreign currency. This creates gaps that cause inflation, they said.

The participants called for the implementation of the Abuja Declaration, which decreed that countries should at least allocate 15 percent of their budget to health. —@ncubeleon