LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
ZIMNAT Life Insurance subsidiary, Generation Health Medical Fund has suspended the advance payment for foreign treatment cases due to serious foreign currency shortages.
This comes at a time when all economic activities have come to a standstill as the foreign currency shortages take its toll and the parallel market rate runs riot.
Worryingly, some pharmacies have already started rejecting medical aid cards and are now demanding foreign currency payment on medication.
Generation Health Medical Fund principal officer Chipo Kureva noted the suspension of the facility through a letter to clients.
“This letter serves as notification that with immediate effect the Fund has suspended the advance payment for cases that require treatment outside Zimbabwe. This regrettable position, which has been necessitated by the severe shortages of foreign currency, will be reviewed as soon as the conditions allow,” said Kureva.
She said however, members can still mobilise their own resources and re-imbursement will be done at the levels as defined in the benefits rules.
Generation highlighted that prior notification of the treatment plan to the fund is required.
Various health insurers are calling for government to intervene on drug shortages in pharmacies and health facilities before the situation gets out of hand.
Health insurance companies are faced with a dilemma of what they can do with client’s payments which are pegged in local currency when they are buying forex at a premium on the parallel market.
