Medical aid crisis for post office staff

Thousands set to lose cover after Sapo fails to pay contributions

● About 15,000 South African Post Office (Sapo) employees and pensioners may have no medical aid from next month after the Medipos medical scheme told them it was cutting them off because it is owed R602m in member contributions by the postal service.

In a letter sent to affected employees last week, the scheme’s principal officer, Thabisiwe Mlotshwa, said Sapo has not paid the contributions made by members over to the scheme for the past 15 months.

“On the odd occasion that we do receive some form of contribution it will only be partial payment. To date, a total of approximately R602m is owed by Sapo to Medipos, thus a significant portion of your contributions remains unpaid,” the letter said.

“The scheme’s reserves were used to pay your claims and scheme expenses whilst not receiving full contributions [and] are now (on August 31 2021) at just under R233m.

“Despite continued engagements with Sapo executives and the escalation to the Sapo board, these engagements have not borne any outcome that will ensure the longterm sustainability of the Scheme.

“The board has regretfully had to come to a decision that should your arrear contribution not be received by September 30, your membership will be suspended with immediate effect from October 1. This means you will have no cover for medical expenses.”

Mlotshwa said in the letter that an initial exemption granted by the Council for Medical Schemes had expired on June 11 “and at this stage the regulator is not inclined to entertain any further exemptions”.

Sapo spokesperson Nobuhle Njapha acknowledged it is in arrears, blaming it on “a massive drop in revenue” caused by the Covid pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

She said Sapo was engaging with Medipos and the unions on the way forward. “Contributions will be transferred as soon as revenue levels recover adequately or financial assistance is received,” she said, adding that “a strategy to improve its operational and financial performance” had been developed.

Njapha said Sapo regarded the payment of the medical aid contributions as “vital”.

“It is our understanding that Medipos may temporarily reduce its payments of claims. We are engaging them to ensure that the best possible medical cover is provided during this period.”

However, consumer and corporate law attorney Trudie Broekmann described Sapo’s actions as “fraudulent, completely lacking in transparency, reprehensible and actually unconscionable”.

“I can’t fault the medical aid because they are completely within their rights to refuse to provide a service for which they haven’t been paid. So the rights of the employees in this case are limited,” she said.

Broekmann advised the affected medical aid members to first try to access the trade union labour mechanisms, then band together as a group and sue Sapo to pay Medipos the money owed, and hope that they are first in line to claim from what assets the parastatal has left.

Responding to Sapo’s comments that reduced income had forced it to default on paying over membership fees, she said: “One would think the post office would have arranged for a bailout, although this is the issue with many of our parastatals that are run so horrifically badly. I mean, how do you continue to operate and do business if you are insolvent? It’s unfair to the employees.”

Medipos member Gezame Mahalaule has worked at the post office for the past 30 years, most of it at the Germiston hub.

“I feel very bad. I have been paying my contributions every month and for that I am going to be getting nothing. I am going to suffer. I am on chronic medication and I don’t know what is going to happen if it stops,” Mahalaule said. He collects his medication from the pharmacy every month and has no idea what it costs.

David Mangena, general secretary of the South African Postal Workers Union, said the union was hopeful that last-minute engagements will see some kind of resolution as “we are now waiting for Medipos to inform us on the way forward”. He said the union had met with the scheme, which in turn met with Sapo management earlier this week.

Medipos did not respond to questions.