NEW: Medical aid societies collected US$600m in premiums in 2024

George Maponga in MASVINGO

THE Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) wants the country’s medical aid societies to be regulated, amid reports that they collected an estimated US$600 million in monthly premiums for medical insurance in 2024.
The Government has started the process of putting medical aid societies, which are presently superintended over by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, under the purview of the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC).
ZiMA president Dr Kudzai Masinire said it is imperative to regulate medical aid societies and stem recurrent reports of maladministration and malfeasance.
“The right to healthcare for all citizens and permanent residents is guaranteed in Section 76 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“The efforts by the Government of Zimbabwe to deliver health services to the population are complemented by the private sector.”
ZiMA, Dr Masinire said, is relieved that the Government has finally responded to the organisation’s plea for medical aid societies to be effectively regulated.
“For the greater part of the past two decades, The Zimbabwe Medical Association has walked on many avenues and lobbied at many fora in an endeavour to get the medical aid societies better regulated for the betterment of the fraternity and the health outcomes of the nation,” he said.
“The health funders are running a multi-million-dollar industry annually with very little if any oversight role on their operations. In 2024, it is estimated that private funders received more than US$600 million through monthly premiums paid by about 10 percent of the population of Zimbabwe.”