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THE stand-off between medical aid societies and doctors that has seen medical practitioners resolving to demand cash upfront from patients with effect from July 1, is unfortunate and has the potential to paralyse the country’s health delivery system if allowed to continue unravelling. The Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) announced last week that its members would stop accepting health insurance cards next month with patients expected to pay cash and claim reimbursements from medical aid societies. With an estimated 1,2 million Zimbabweans on medical aid, the move by ZiMA will put the lives of innocent people on the line and we implore doctors to reconsider their position and find an amicable way of resolving their dispute with medical insurers.

The Government should also crack the whip on defaulting medical aid societies and ensure that they fulfil their obligations to doctors by paying out claims timely. While it has given the medical insurers up to June 30 to put their houses in order, we feel the issue is urgent and those medical aid societies who are failing to honour their obligations should immediately have their licences cancelled because their irresponsible behaviour is putting the lives of patients at risk.

An investigation/audit should be carried out on all defaulting health insurers to ascertain how they are handling money collected from clients and if it is established that they are abusing finances, then the law should take its course. We sympathise with doctors who are being garnished by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for unpaid claims but feel that their decision to punish patients for the misdeeds of health insurers is unfair and an affront on their Hippocratic Oath which enjoins them to put service before reward.

The impasse between doctors and medical aid societies should be resolved as a matter of urgency before the July 1 deadline and the Government should play its oversight role to ensure that the interests of clients of medical insurers are protected. We are glad that the matter has attracted the attention of the highest office in the land and hopefully this will lead to a solution soon.

Speaking during the burial of national hero Retired Brigadier-General Felix Muchemwa at the National Heroes Acre on Sunday, President Mugabe roundly criticised doctors for valuing money more instead of serving people in urgent need of health care services. The President called for an urgent solution to the impasse, saying while doctors deserved decent remuneration, they should also appreciate the prevailing sanctions-induced harsh economic environment.

Doctors, he said, should put people’s interests first ahead of their personal interests adding that during the war, doctors like Rtd Brig Gen Muchemwa were not paid for assisting wounded comrades, but they were solely motivated by the desire to save lives.

Said President Mugabe: “There is an example, some need money to be seen by a doctor. Do you have money? If you don’t have it we will not attend to you. But here was the Hippocratic Oath that says a doctor will never let a patient die unattended for lack of money. Well, our doctors were not being paid and that was their sacrifice on the part of Dr Muchemwa alongside the other doctors. But today what do we read? We read of a standoff between doctors and medical insurers. We never cease to wonder what has become of the Hippocratic Oath that demands that care must nevertheless be given to the sick even where you are being paid less. Have our doctors lost their values that used to define them?

“Values that used to define them to life and its sustenance that life is dear. Do not allow people to die. Do all you can to save life? True, we expect everyone, doctors included to be rewarded evenly for work done but is it not important for us all in the medical field to appreciate the social context within which we execute our duties. Why do they not take is as we still are fighting a war, a liberation war. We are fighting another liberation war just now. We have sanctions that have been imposed on us and therefore there are those limitations and restrictions that prevent our economy from running smoothly.”

We agree totally with the President and urge doctors to heed his wise counsel. In the same vein, we call on medical aid societies to honour patients’ claims and pay service providers on time. By reneging on their contracts with their clients, the medical insurers are forcing Government to take drastic measures which might be detrimental to their existence.

We sincerely pray for an amicable solution to be found to the impasse because the subject at hand is grave as it involves people’s health. Medical aid societies cannot be allowed to continue toying with the lives of millions of Zimbabweans.