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ACCESS to health is a basic human right which everyone is entitled to and the decision by doctors to stop accepting medical aid with effect from July 1 flies in the face of the Hippocratic Oath which they swore to uphold. Despite being clearly shortchanged by medical insurers, doctors should find other ways of seeking redress instead of abandoning their patients.

This is why we implore them to reconsider their decision to demand cash upfront and stay true to the ideals of their profession which prioritise empathy over remuneration for services rendered. In its original form, the Hippocratic Oath requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards.

It is considered a rite of passage for practitioners of medicine in many countries, including Zimbabwe, and its proponent, Hippocrates, is often called the father of medicine. Part of the Oath, with its origins in Greek medical texts, reads: “I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: . . . I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug”.

It further reads: “I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those of sound mind and body as well as the infirm”. The last part enjoins doctors to always put their patients first no matter the circumstances and we find it telling that Zimbabwean medical practitioners are prepared to go against this sacred oath for the sake of money.

As we reported in yesterday’s edition, doctors will, from July 1, demand cash upfront after accusing the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority of taxing them for claims that have not yet been honoured by medical aid societies.

The doctors say patients must now pay cash upfront and claim reimbursements from medical aid societies. Dr Shingie Bopoto, the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA) secretary general, said doctors were being forced to borrow money to settle tax obligations for money that they have not received. “Medical aid societies are breaking the law. They’re supposed to pay doctors for services rendered to their members. They’re also obligated by the law to pay doctors at prescribed rates depending on their levels. A good number of insurers are not doing that and it’s seriously affecting doctors,” Dr Bopoto said.

“Zimra charges tax on money accrued to doctors, whether they have been paid or not. Due to non-payment by health insurers, doctors have to borrow money to pay their tax obligations. This is not a sustainable situation. No doctor or service provider can afford that.” The doctors say some medical schemes owe them money from as far back as 2009 and have asked the government to intervene.

The government recently threatened to cancel licences for medical aid societies who were not meeting their obligations, giving them a June 30 deadline. The Premier Service Medical Aid Scheme last year instructed more than 30 health providers to demand cash from its members to prevent its debt from ballooning and to avoid further litigation.

Cimas, one of the country’s largest medical aid societies, last week defied a seven-day government ultimatum to pay health service providers’ claims and instead, turned to the High Court seeking an interdict to stop cancellation of its operating licence. Cimas is accused of punishing its members by refusing to clear claims from service providers not on its prescribed list.

According to the government, Cimas is selecting service providers and asking its members to pay cash to any other service provider not on its approved list and then request for a reimbursement, a practice deemed unacceptable at law. We find the stance taken by doctors and some medical aid societies to be inimical to the quest to provide affordable health care to the generality of Zimbabweans.

We believe a solution which will satisfy both service providers and the health insurers can be found if both parties sit down and resolve their issues. Zimbabwe is going through challenging economic times and in such an environment, the government should always seek to cushion ordinary people from being shortchanged by unscrupulous service providers.

It is clear from the decision taken by doctors that their patience has been stretched to the limit by medical aid societies hence their drastic action to demand cash up front. While we sympathise with them, we can’t help but feel for their patients who sacrifice a lot to keep up with subscriptions to medical aid societies. The doctors’ quarrel is with the health insurers and patients should not be made to suffer.

We are aware that some medical aid societies are abusing subscriptions through paying themselves obscene salaries and perks and we support the government in its drive to bring normalcy to the sector. In the meantime we appeal to the doctors not to punish their patients by making them pay cash up front. We also urge the government to come down hard on medical aid societies defaulting on paying out claims.