Funding shortage ball ‘remains squarely’ in private healthcare, business sector court

In making this assertion, Ruth Maseko, Acting Principal Officer of the Building and Construction Industry Medical Aid Fund (BCIMA) said that the country has never been in greater need of proactive and workable healthcare management solutions for the blue-collar market than it is right now.

“Despite the private medical funding industry’s many attempts to design and offer products for the blue-collar market,” she added, “the sector continues to struggle to get more employed individuals covered by at least some basic form of healthcare insurance. Just how the industry can successfully provide cover to more South Africans is a question that has troubled some of the best economic minds in our country for several years.

“The solution surely lies in greater collaboration between the private healthcare funding sector and employers in bringing more practical, affordable solutions within easy reach of uncovered, employed individuals,” Maseko noted.

She went on to point out that the building, construction and engineering industries have been in the doldrums for several years, with some large construction companies going into business rescue and liquidation while smaller contractors were battling to make ends meet due to lack of work. It would, however, seem that an encouraging uptick is on the cards for the industry.  

This was confirmed by the recently released Afrimat Construction Index for the first quarter of 2023, which, when compared to the same period in 2022 indicates a heartening increase of almost 12% in construction sector employment and more than 4% in value added by the sector.

“While businesses continued to wait for the long-promised upswing in infrastructure development, which would lead to economic recovery and job creation, employed but uninsured individuals, unfortunately, remained in limbo in what was arguably one of the most difficult times in the recent history of mankind.

“Against this background,” said Maseko, “BCIMA has continued to fulfil its mandate to deliver affordable and accessible healthcare cover to the men and women of the building, construction and engineering sectors, putting our members at the heart of everything we do to make a tangible difference in their lives.”

Elaborating, she noted that the value that BCIMA provides is widely acknowledged in the industry with the Fund enjoying considerable support from various associations, such as the Bargaining Council for the Civil Engineering Industry, the Master Builders Association of South Africa, the Master Builders Association North and the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors.

“It is the preferred medical scheme for a number of unions, including the Building, Construction and Allied Workers Union, the National Union of Mine Workers, and the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers.

“At present, the greatest differentiating factor within the healthcare funding industry is the ability to proactively drive and manage change to ensure future sustainability. Essentially it is the total transformation of ‘what we do and how we do it’ that will ensure the longevity of this industry”.

SOURCE: MNA on behalf of BCIMA