Empowering the Public Sector
A Q&A with Chief Operations Officer Stan Moloabi
The South African government is on a mission to open up access to healthcare across the country. Much has been made of the disparity between public and private provision of medical services, a trend which authorities are looking to address through the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI), a financing system designed to ensure all citizens are provided with essential healthcare, regardless of their employment status and ability to
contribute to the NHI Fund.
An eager supporter of this scheme is GEMS, short for the Government Employees Medical Scheme. Set up just after the turn of the millennium, its mandate is to improve healthcare provision to public sector workers.
A key stakeholder in the wider public health scene in South Africa, who better to ask than Stan Moloabi, Chief Operations Officer of GEMS, about the current state of play and the work being conducted by his organisation.
Africa Outlook (AfO): How did GEMS come into being in 2005? What is its purpose?
Stan Moloabi (SM): The beginning of the Government Employees
Medical Scheme (GEMS) was a historic moment when in 2002 the cabinet approved a framework policy on a restricted (closed) medical scheme for further development by an interdepartmental working group. The approved framework policy centred on the principles of equity, efficiency and differentiation. The GEMS mandate is to ensure that there is adequate provisioning of healthcare coverage to public service employees that is efficient, cost effective and equitable; and to provide further options for those who wish to purchase more extensive cover.
GEMS was registered on January 1, 2005 specifically to meet the healthcare needs of government employees in line with the mandate. GEMS became operational on January 1, 2006 and we are required to help public service employees and their
families to get the best possible healthcare at the most affordable cost.
AfO: Generally, how would you describe the provision of medical insurance across South Africa? How would you assess its potential to grow and have a positive societal impact?
SM: The South African healthcare system remains characterised by inequality, where access depends on the ability of an individual to pay. The ideal of affordable quality healthcare for all can only be achieved through cooperation and buy-in from different stakeholders, including private healthcare funders, and GEMS is committed to putting its experience and expertise behind efforts to make the South African healthcare system more equitable and unified.
GEMS has already made great strides towards broadening access to healthcare, particularly among government employees and their families who previously could not afford healthcare cover. Through implementing models that make more efficient use of healthcare resources, encouraging medical scheme members to make use of primary healthcare facilities and placing a greater emphasis on promoting wellness and preventative care, the limited resources available can go further for all South Africans.