An investigation into allegations that non-white healthcare professionals were unfairly treated by medical aid schemes has found that found that black providers are discriminated against on the grounds of race.
Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images
Judge says case not urgent, strikes it from the court roll.
The decision means the long-awaited report can finally be released.
The Government Employees Medical Scheme says it has been informed report finds that, among other things, that black healthcare providers are unfairly discriminated against on the grounds of race .
The Government Employees Medical Scheme has lost an urgent legal bid to interdict the release of Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi’s scathing interim report on allegations that medical schemes have racially profiling black, coloured and Indian medical practitioners.
GEMS – which provides healthcare benefits to public service employees and is the second-biggest medical scheme in South Africa – and the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), which represents the majority of South Africa’s medical schemes, on Saturday night launched an urgent application to interdict the release of the report, which was schedu
Medscheme to review report on racial discrimination against black practitioners 19 January 2021 - 16:49 Medscheme says it will review the interim report by a panel appointed by the Council for Medical Schemes which found there was unfair racial discrimination against some black practitioners by three medical schemes. Stock photo. Image: 123RF/SAMSONOVS
Medscheme on Tuesday rejected claims it practised any form of racial profiling when assisting or auditing health-care claims.
The largest medical health risk management services provider was responding to the release of an interim report by a panel convened by the Council for Medical Schemes to investigate allegations made by a number of health-care professionals that they were being treated unfairly by medical aid schemes based on race and ethnicity.
Damning allegations of racism by medical schemes released Siyanda Ndlovu
Photo for illustration: iStock In the period between 2012 and 2019, black practitioners were more likely to be found to have committed fraud, waste and abuse than their white counterparts.
A much-anticipated Section 59 investigation into racial discrimination from medical schemes has been made public.
The Council for Medical Schemes back in 2019 appointed advocates Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Adilla Hassim and Kerry Williams to probe allegations of unfair treatment and discrimination.
The report released on Tuesday cited that there was no deliberate unfair treatment nor evidence of that by the schemes but the outcomes of the schemes’ actions showed clear evidence of discrimination.
Investigation finds major medical aid schemes to have racially abused black practitioners Updated
Karabo Tebele
Share this:
Pixabay
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