High Court Ruling for Affordable Medical Scheme Benefits in South Africa not Adhered to
In the recent judgement handed down by the Pretoria High Court in favour of Board of Health Funders (BHF), the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), Registrar of Medical Schemes and the Minister of Health were ordered to deliver a complete record, which will shed light on the moratorium on granting exemptions to medical schemes to provide LCBO benefits. The order directed the CMS and the Minister of Health to deliver all documents or information requested under Rule 30A within 10 days of the order, but all the respondents failed to meet the deadline.
After the ten-day deadline had passed and noting that the documents were still not produced and there was no appeal to the court order, the BHF was forced to return to court to seek answers. The BHF filed a contempt of court order on an urgent basis. In this application, the BHF highlighted that no complete record had been submitted even though the deadline for the Minister of Health and CMS to do so was on 24 July 2023. In response, the CMS and the Minister of Health opposed the contempt of court action and appealed the rule 30A judgement delivered on 10 July 2023. The Minister of Health, acting through his attorneys, allowed his own team to submit certain documents in terms of rule 30A, and the attorneys have stated that the delivery of the documents demonstrates good faith. This is despite the appealing of the judgement and order delivered in the rule 30A application.
The legal battle against the CMS and Minister of Health not only highlights their failure to comply with the court’s order, but also raises concerns about transparency and accountability within the healthcare system. This delay not only hampers the progress towards implementing affordable healthcare solutions, but also undermines public trust in the decision-making process of these regulatory bodies. This lack of adherence to court orders highlights the urgent need for effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure that court decisions are respected and implemented by the relevant parties.
