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Mukudzei Chingwere
Herald Reporter
Government is committed to assist in addressing the rot at Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) and its subsidiaries as a way of ensuring they deliver in accordance with their mandate and taking good care of their clients as well as workers.

This follows the short changing of clients by failing to provide on their mandate despite customers mostly civil servants being up to date with their remittances, and in some cases their medical aid being turned away by several healthcare service providers.

The situation was exacerbated recently with complaints that they were defaulting from their fiscal obligations to workers like timeous payments of salaries, reneging from paying some allowances, while being accused of channeling the bulk of its resources to management welfare.

Leading to the downing of tools by workers at Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI) which disrupted service delivery.

Reports also say the company is muting diversification into other areas such as mining and insurance, a flagrant disregard of the entity’s founding objectives, and has also introduced co-payments.

The co-payments requires clients to pay more money when they need a service despite being up to date with their usual monthly payments.
Government – the major stakeholder of PSMAS, contributing around 90 percent of the company’s revenue through remittances of its employees in the public service said the tomfoolery at PSMAS has to end now.

“The funds that are contributed by Government and those that are contributed by Government workers should go to support the activities for which the mutual society was formed for by Government employees and that is access to healthcare,” said Public Service Commissions Secretary, Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe.

“That is the acceptance of the PSMAS card whenever it is presented by PSMAS members, that is the comprehensive coverage of healthcare costs. To the extent that it was meant to be comprehensive.”

He blasted the need for requesting co-payment to workers, imploring the company that the service providers accepting the PSMAS card should get their remittances as well.

Ambassador Wutawunashe said the money that comes from government should be used in accordance with the founding principles of the organisation.

“Employees at PSMI should be in a position to provide the service they should,” he was referring to the need for the company to take care of its workers.

“Any developments that diverts the focus from the primary role that PSMAS is supposed to play in support of its members has to be corrected.”

Ambassador Wutawunashe said all the advocacy in the company should be on behalf of the workers, the institution in so far as it is playing their primary role which is providing access to healthcare.

“Government is committed to continue to contribute to the strengthening of the institution PSMAS, its affiliates in the provision of healthcare and in the reinstatement of the card that appears to have lost its lustre, that is not being accepted the way it has to.”

Ambassador Wutawunashe said they are in support of a return to the original and return to an institution cost correction.

He said Government was ready and willing to support if the company returned to its founding principles.

Allegations are that senior management and board members were willing to diversify as a way of creating financial flows that will help the mismanagement of funds.