admininformation bulletin, the decision was precipitated by an upsurge in claims in the past two years.
Private hospital stay for a normal maternity delivery is now two days while hospitalisation for all other cases is now restricted to three days.
“Members are not being asked to pay cash, we are simply requesting the healthcare service providers to supply us with the treatment plans for the extended hospital stay, in a bid to help us manage the fund better.
“These certificates of necessity are not new; they are a requirement for patients in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and we have simply extended them to other prolonged hospital stays,” wrote Cimas.
According to the bulletin, if there is a need for a longer stay in hospital, a report should be submitted to the society for authorisation of the extended stay.
Cimas also noted that some members were persistently using emergency and casualty units even in non-emergency cases.
In that light, members are now required to use casualty units for emergency cases only and the number of visits have been set at three visits in a membership year.
“Members will be asked to pay cash for the services should they access these units outside these guidelines,” further reads the statement.
According to the society, the average stay for major illnesses in hospital is longer compared to international trends.
Online Reporter