The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Thursday, January 18, 1968 — The 15 500 beneficiaries of Bulawayo’s largest private medical aid society, the Medical Aid Society of Central Africa, may eventually have to meet the cost to the society of a recent increase in benefits, the society’s manager, Mr R E Clark, said yesterday.

The increase raised benefits for doctors’ fees from 17s 6d to £1 1s and would cost the society – on a rough estimate – about £11 000 a year.

The step was taken by the committee of management at its December meeting and would be ratified at the annual meeting on January 25.

The reason was advance knowledge of the rise in doctors’ fees in Matabeleland which came into effect on January 1.

After discussions between the society and doctors it was decided to close the gap to this extent between the new fees and the cost to patients.

If the whole £11 000 extra cost to the society was passed on to the beneficiaries it would amount to 14s 21/2d each a year. – about 1s 21/2 d a month each, Mr Clark said.

The society would first “look at the whole income and expenditure picture and balance the books to meet the shortfall.”

Any extra contribution needed from members would be assessed after that, he said. Mr Clark said that in discussions between his society and the Matabeleland branch of the Rhodesian Medical Association the following reasons were given for the increase in doctors’ fees. a) The fees in Matabeleland were the lowest in Rhodesia. b) The cost of rent, cars, petrol and staff had risen in Matabeleland.