As arrangements are being made to pay for the COVID vaccination programme for South Africa, medical aid schemes are expected to contribute to the cost towards ensuring at least 67% of the population receives a vaccine, which is the minimum number to establish herd immunity.
Across South Africa, there are some 9 million medical aid beneficiaries, making up some 16% of the population and who collectively spent R186 billion last year on healthcare. The total cost of providing sufficient vaccines for the South African population is thought to range from R5 billion to R20 billion, depending on whether the vaccine is simply bought for the commercial price or whether the distribution and administration costs are factored in as well.
Discussions into paying for the mass vaccinations have suggested that mass-employers, such as mines, ought to contribute This week, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) confirmed that vaccination would be a minimum prescribed benefit, so this will not be paid for out of medical savings.”The CMS acknowledges that there may be an additional cost burden to medical schemes for the provision of the vaccine, but this is not expected to be prohibitively high,” the body said. “In addition, industry associations have assured the CMS that vaccine costs can be absorbed by most medical schemes.”
South Africa’s vaccine source is not yet clear, although President Cyril Ramaphosa has hinted that Canada may share its excess vaccine stock. Canada currently has enough vaccine pre-purchase agreements to vaccinate its population five times over.
Source: Business Insider
