MORE than 15 000 retired civil servants have lost the benefit of medical insurance after they were found to be non-compliant with staff rules.
The Ministry of Finance, which governs the Public Service Employee Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas), in a statement says it has been inundated with enquiries from members of the public, particularly pensioners, asking why they were removed from the medical aid fund after retirement.
Psemas has about 290 000 members – more than the 202 000 members of all five private Namibian medical aid schemes combined.
In this year’s national budget, Psemas was allocated about N$2,6 billion, which makes up 55,4% of the ministry’s annual budget.
Over the years Psemas has been dogged by a number of challenges, including ghost members who put a strain on the fund’s resources, and the ministry has been trying to uproot them.
In March 2020, the fund weaned 17 000 overaged dependants off the scheme.
The ministry has initiated a number of measures to reduce expenses, and a technical committee was appointed towards the beginning of this year to assess the status of the public fund.
According to the statement issued by the executive director’s office, the rules state that civil servants are required to apply for Psemas membership within 90 days of retiring.
If this is not done, members will forfeit the benefits associated with being a member of the fund.
The rules also state that membership is suspended when members’ subscriptions are in arrears.
“In relation to these staff rules, the ministry has conducted a Psemas membership verification project, and it was established that 15 162 retired staff members are not contributing to the fund, and failed to apply for medical aid cover on retirement, even though they fully benefited from the scheme since retirement,” the statement reads.
In addition, the ministry has established that many of these pensioners have withdrawn their full pension benefits, although it is required that medical aid contributions are deducted from pension benefits every month.
“In line with the staff rules, and the findings of the verification project, the ministry resolved to terminate the medical aid cover of the affected members on 3 September 2021,” the ministry says.
The statement also says the government has conducted public awareness campaigns through the Government Institutions Pension Fund on non-compliance and its accompanying risks.
“We are consulting key stakeholders on the possibility of deviating from the staff rules, and the public will be informed in due course,” the statement reads.
The ministry advises all government employees to acquaint themselves with the rules and regulations of the medical aid scheme to avoid losing benefits.
Email: matthew@namibian.com.na
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