The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has suffered a major loss in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) where its attempt to place Sizwe Medical Fund under curatorship was dismissed with costs, reports Sunday Times Daily.
Justice Neil Tuchten found that there was no ‘rational basis for the CMS registrar's opinion that curatorship was desirable or that good cause had been shown’. The judgment follows a lengthy battle between CMS and the scheme after it scuppered the scheme’s proposed amalgamation with Hosmed Medical Scheme earlier this year.
‘Sizwe is in a sound financial position. Its members’ health and their economic investments are not at risk because of the policies or conduct of Sizwe and its board of trustees,’ Tuchten said in his judgment. ‘It was not appropriate for the registrar to use curatorship as a way of scrutinising the proposed amalgamation agreement.’
The report notes in October last year, the Competition Commission approved the Sizwe and Hosmed merger without conditions. Tuchten said it was regrettable that he could not decide on the amalgamation as he had no jurisdiction, but that once the application for curatorship was disposed of, ‘there would be no reason for the registrar further to refuse confirmation’.
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/news/2020-12-04-sizwe-medical-fund-routs-cms-in-curatorship-battle/"]Full Sunday Times Daily report (Subscription required)[/link]
Full High Court judgment not yet online[/link]
See also from MedicalBrief Archives:
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/row-over-cms-suspension-of-black-medical-schemes-merger/"]Row over CMS' suspension of black medical schemes' merger[/link]