Parliament summoned over inability of civil servants to access PSMAS services

Free Enterprise, a local think tank, has written to Parliament to bring to attention the inability of civil servants to access medical care from the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) over the past eight months despite being subscribers to the medical aid society.

Free Enterprise Chairman, Brian Sedze in a letter addressed to Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Welfare, Dr Ruth Labode, raised complaints that PSMAS was failing to provide services to its customers, the civil servants.

This comes at a time when the Premier Service Holding Company (PSHC), the parent company of PSMAS is struggling to meet the health costs of its broad clientele.

“We bring to the attention of parliament through your committee the inability of civil servants to access medical care over the past eight months despite being subscribers to PSMAS, a medical aid society,” Sedze said.

“We hope you shall bring the executive arm of government to account so that they put correct corrective actions, summon Premier Service Holding Company directors and Executives to explain themselves and proffer solutions, and ensure civil servants who subscribe to PSMAS receive relief in the shortest possible time.

“PSMAS is in critical care and it may tilt into insolvency and compound suffering of nearly a million people who are subscribers and members.”

With the government covering 80% of PSMAS subscriptions for each of its employees under the medical scheme, Free Enterprise seeks the review of the funding model to meet Zimbabwe’s inflationary environment.

“It often takes years for the government and the regulator to approve subscription increases. If and when the government and the regulator decide to approve the new fees they would have been eroded by inflation.

“In my considered view, the medical aid society must be allowed to balance subscription fees to be affordable but sustainable. The fees must be within a reasonable standard deviation of other societies and funds. Government must reduce interference with auctorial estimation and its nexus to fees,” Sedze said