Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is proposing a law that would put a cap on medical claims against the state after they shot up to R100bn. According to an IoL report, Mkhize and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni have warned that these claims were unsustainable and would impact on the state. The two ministers also suggested lawyers were defrauding the state of millions in medical claims.
The National Treasury said last year claims had risen from R28bn in 2015 to R80bn in 2018. This figure has now risen to R100bn this year.
Mkhize, who was answering questions in Parliament this week, said there was collusion between some of the firms on medical claims. “We have found about four or five major firms involved in the claims. About 90% of the cases are about cerebral palsy,” said Mkhize. He said some firms used standards from the US when calculating forward costs. “We have a team that will analyse trends and even talk to the Law Society. Honourable members, you will be shocked: some of them are reputable firms.
The report says two years ago provincial departments complained about the huge claims, saying this was putting a strain on their budgets. The Department of Transport tabled the Road Accident Benefit Scheme to cap the claims on road accidents. This followed a similar complaint by the government that they were paying too much and some victims of road accidents did not get their money.
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/proposal-to-cap-medical-claims-against-state-37878643?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social"]IoL report[/link]