Adult dependants on PSMAS scheme to pay market rat...

Adult dependants on PSMAS scheme to pay market rates

Zim Now Writer

Premier Service Medical Aid Society members who wish to add adult beneficiaries onto their schemes would have to pay market determined subscriptions for them so as to lessen the financial burden on the medical aid scheme while ensuring the viability of the medical cover.

This was disclosed by Service Commissions Secretary Dr Tsitsi Choruma Secretary in a statement.

While noting that civil servants have been facing challenges in accessing medical services in the past few years, Dr Choruma said: “In view of the aspirations to have all Public Servants accessing medical coverage through PSMAS, the Government has made a decision that adult dependants shall not be subsidised by the subscriptions made by the Government for its public workers’ core beneficiaries.

“As such, all members of the Public Service who wish to add other beneficiaries to their plans would need to pay PSMAS-defined market rates for them. The addition of adult dependants onto one’s plan would require that a member notifies PSMAS directly and ensures that they make the necessary arrangements for the proposed additions,” reads the statement in part.

The Public Service Commission said there was an unprecedented increase in the number of adult beneficiaries added by some members of the PSMAS medical scheme has been observed due to the highly subsidised levels of subscriptions obtaining.

The standard medical aid package for public service workers under PSMAS covers a member, spouse and three eligible children, in which case the PSC meets 80 percent while the employee pays 20 percent balance of the medical cover obligations.

This comes as PSMAS subsidiary, PSMI has reportedly closed 153 of its clinics following staff industrial action staged to force their employer to pay them salary arrears owed to them by PSMAS.

The employees say they are owed November and December salaries as well as outstanding allowances dating back to July with PSMI chairman Wellington Tutisa saying efforts towards seeking government’s support to clear the salary arrears were in progress.