Investigation finds major medical aid schemes to have racially abused black practitioners
Updated | By Jacaranda FM
The interim investigation into medical aid scheme companies has revealed that black practitioners were racially abused.
The Section 59 investigation report was released by a team led by Advocates Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, Adila Hassim, and Kerry Williams.
The team was appointed to investigate by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) after allegations that medical aid schemes have racially profiled black practitioners from the National Health Care Professionals Association (NHCPA).
The Pretoria High Court has dismissed the application to have the report not released by Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems) and struck it off the roll.
Advocate Ngcukaitobi says the report revealed that medical aid schemes racially abused black practitioners.
“This is what we concluded, after considering all the evidence and responses, we have found that between 2012 and 2019 which is the period of the investigation, black practitioners, and black I mean African, Indian, and Coloured.
“Black practitioners were more likely to be found to have committed fraud, waste, and abuse than their non-black, white counterparts.
“Discovery, Medscheme and Gems have committed unfair racial discrimination. We have not found explicit racial bias in the algorithm but using the data that Discovery, Gems, and Medscheme, we have found that there are substantial differences in fraud, waste, and abuse outcomes between black and non-black practitioners over a substantial period of time January 2012 to June 2019.”
Ngcukaitobi says black practitioners were unfairly classified compared to whites.
“Over this period across all these medical disciplines, there are mentions of three schemes, Discovery, Gems and Medscheme, and their administrators, black practitioners were 1,4 times more likely to be classified as having committed fraud, wastage and abuse than those identified as non-black.”
The panel vowed to write to the Council for Medical Scheme and Health Professionals of South Africa to act on the recommendation.
Show's Stories
-
TikToker tries lasagna bow hair tie in her hair
This sounds as loopy as it turned out... we don't think pasta was meant ...
Vic Naidoo 42 seconds ago -
Take a digital detox this Family Day
Today is a reminder of family and celebrating gratitude.
Carol Ofori a minute ago