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Paidamoyo Chipunza
GOVERNMENT has set new tariffs for medical consultations, finally breaking the impasse between service providers and medical aid societies on costs of services in the country.Outgoing Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the tariffs would be gazetted by the incoming Health Minister.
“We have come up with a tariff that should be followed by both the practitioners and health funders. That has been finalised and is just awaiting gazetting.”
He said the new tariffs should have been gazetted by end of July but the process was delayed because of the harmonised elections.
Dr Mombeshora, who is also the chairman of the Joint Advisory Council, said medical tariffs are usually reviewed annually and if the economy remains stable, the tariffs would also remain in force. JAC was formed last year specifically to deal with issues of medical aid societies and tariffs, among other things.
He said although Government has not come up with the likelihood penalties for practitioners who fail to adhere to gazetted tariffs, Government as the licencing body reserves the right to withhold practicising certificates of those caught on the wrong side of the law. “Those who will violate the set regulations will find their practicing certificates revoked,” Dr Mombeshora said.
He said Government is, however, yet to come up with tariffs for various medical procedures and the tariffs would be gazetted in due course. Since establishment of JAC, Dr Mombeshora said a lot of improvement has since been registered in the health sector in terms of access to health care.
Health care funders had been blamed for unfair practices by referring patients to their preferred practitioners while practitioners themselves have been refusing to treat patients on certain medical aid societies.
Practitioners argued that medical aid societies were not settling claims on time while the societies blamed the practitioners for charging too high tariffs. “I think we are getting somewhere, but I cannot say sanity is now prevailing in the health sector. I am not happy with the situation at the moment. We hope by the end of the year, things would have improved,” said Dr Mombeshora.
General practitioners are currently charging an average of US$40 a visit and specialists charging over US$100 for each consultation.
These prices were not agreed on by healthcare funders and resulted in patients paying huge shortfalls and co-payments.
Online Reporter