(Last Updated on March 2, 2016 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – Health insurers and doctors have clashed over payment of renewal recognition numbers which enable them to transact with medical aid societies.
The Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) on Friday issued a statement advising its members not to pay for any number other than that of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe (MDPCZ).
ZiMA said the MDPCZ, which regulates medical practice in Zimbabwe, was against issuance of any other number that may imply any licensing to practice.
“ZiMA would like to inform its members of the following: not to pay for renewal of any other than their MDPCZ practice/registration number in order to practice in Zimbabwe.
“The practice or registration number issued by MDPCZ is sufficient for the purposes of all aspects of practice,” reads the ZiMA statement.
ZiMA said its members should merely submit a copy of their current MDPCZ registration and practice certificate to the Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ), which represents medical aid societies in Zimbabwe.
Last week, AHFoZ issued a statement calling on all service providers, including doctors, to renew their payee number for 2016.
According to AHFoZ, renewal of the payee numbers involved submitting the relevant certificates with the renewal fees before March 31, 2016.
“Failure to renew by 31 March 2016 will result in the cancellation of the AHFoZ payee number as it will be assumed that the number is no longer in use,” said AHFoZ.
Although ZiMA said the MDPCZ does not support issuance of any other number for purposes of practice, AHFoZ chief executive officer Mrs Shylet Sanyanga said payee numbers were a standard practice the world over in the medical insurance industry.
She said the AHFoZ payee number was used by service providers intending to transact with health insurers for purposes of easy identification.
“Payee numbers are given to any service provider intending to do business with any medical aid society, a number which is then used to identify the service provider.
“They are used in South Africa, USA and other countries,” she said.