Availability of Medication through insurance By Yvonne Mutandadzi

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a series of uncertainty in the way people are used to live. Serious questions have been asked by this disease on the general preparedness of governments and individuals alike especially because of the surprise effects the ailment has on people. With such a health hazard in the midst of mankind, it becomes only fair to scrutinize the preparedness of individuals in terms of issues concerning their health.
One such issue is the one on medical insurance popularly referred to medical aid in Zimbabwe.
Medical insurance policy holders prepay for medical fees beforehand and these schemes come in handy when one falls ill suddenly. There are a lot of companies in Zimbabwe including VITEQY Medical Insurance who are involved in such policies but according to the medical professionals only a few people seem to be having such policies.

Medical insurance schemes in Zimbabwe cover a tenth of the population and about 80% of income to private health care providers comes from medical insurance. They contribute more than 20% of the country’s total healthcare expenditure. Medical insurance schemes are voluntary, meaning, they deal directly with employers and consumer avoiding broke costs but also limiting employee discretion in the choice of society they may want to join. Benefit packages are clearly specified, segmented, and show different levels of cover for different income groups of beneficiaries.

We spoke to Chipo (not real name), an employee at one of the biggest government medical facilities in Zimbabwe who said that very few people have the policies because most people cannot afford. Chipo also said that government facilities rarely have enough medication to dispense hence patients often rely on private facilities.
Medical insurance schemes in Zimbabwe cover a tenth of the population and about 80% of income to private health care providers comes from medical insurance. They contribute more than 20% of the country’s total healthcare expenditure. Medical insurance schemes are voluntary, meaning, they deal directly with employers and consumer avoiding broke costs but also limiting employee discretion in the choice of society they may want to join. Benefit packages are clearly specified, segmented, and show different levels of cover for different income groups of beneficiaries.
“Usually people with medical insurance are civil servants because they have their money deducted from the Salary Services Bureau (SSB). Most people who are not either civil servants or are unemployed don’t have medical insurance because most of them do not afford. What happens is, at government hospitals if one wants to use medical aid some of the medications that are required will not be available at the hospital pharmacies so people end up getting common drugs like pain killers. Other drugs, like those for chronic ailments, are usually not available. In government institutions every drug can be purchased using medical aid.”

In the private sector, the drugs seem to be readily available but the stakes could be higher as some policies might not be accepted or certain medications will require cash only.
“In these institutions, the case is a little different as some medical insurance covers are not accepted on certain products.

It seems that there have to be serious changes in the health sector and it will be important that individuals begin to access medical insurance policies only for their preparedness; a wish that seems so farfetched.