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Interim report finds race bias in medical aid scheme fraud investigations - IOL

An investigation into allegations that non-white healthcare professionals were unfairly treated by medical aid schemes has found that found that black providers are discriminated against on the grounds of race.

By Zelda Venter10h ago Pretoria - The council for Medical Schemes' investigation into allegations of racial profiling against black and Indian private medical practitioners found that black providers are unfairly discriminated against on the grounds of race. This is according to a preliminary report issued Tuesday by a panel headed by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, who chaired the investigation. The panel found that some of the current procedures followed by schemes to enforce their rights in terms of the law are unfair. These findings are both serious and far-reaching. But we believe that it is important to stress that we have not found evidence of deliberate unfair treatment. The evidence shows the unfair discrimination is in the outcomes (of claims). The investigation - known as the Section 59 Investigation Panel - followed allegations by members of the National Health Care Professionals Association that they were being unfairly treated and their claims were withheld by medical schemes because of the colour of their skin and their ethnicity. Advocate Ngcukaitobi along with advocates Adila Hassim and Kerry Williams probed these allegations over several months which resulted in their interim report. The issuing of the preliminary report was meanwhile challenged by the Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems) which rushed to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, over the weekend to stop the report from being released and made public. Gems argued that they should first be given the opportunity to comment on it, before scathing allegations against them and other schemes are made public. The issuing of the interim report has been postponed on two previous occasions, but the panel said it was ready to divulge its preliminary report on Sunday. Gems, however, rushed to the urgent court two hours before the report was due to be made public. Judge Colleen Collis delivered her judgment on Tuesday in which she struck the matter from the roll due to a lack of urgency. The judge said Gems had created the urgency, as the report was due to be released on December 16. The panel since then postponed the release date twice but indicated that it would be released on ( this past) Sunday. The judge questioned by Gems did not in December already turn to the court, but now opted to run to court two hours before the due release time on Sunday to try and block the release. Gems, one of the biggest medical aid schemes in the country, said in its court application that it was told that the interim report contained findings that black healthcare providers are unfairly discriminated against on grounds of race. They said that they should first be able to see the report and comment on it, as these allegations would seriously impact on their good name and reputation. Judge Collis, however, did not comment on these submissions in her judgment, as she simply removed the matter from the roll due to the urgency technicality. The report was meanwhile released less than an hour following her ruling. It was, among others, found that between 2012 and 2019 Discovery, Medscheme and Gems were more likely to find that black practitioners have committed fraud, waste and abuse of the system than their white counterparts. The investigation further found that Discovery was 35% more inclined to identify black healthcare providers guilty of abusing the system, while Gems was 80% more likely and Medscheme 330% more likely. This means that there was unfair racial discrimination, the panel concluded. The panel said it had no power to find anyone guilty. Nor were we appointed to investigate the veracity of each claim of unfair treatment and unfair discrimination. But we would be failing in our duty, if we ignored the degrading, humiliating and distressing impact of racism against the individuals who testified before us. The panel concluded that their findings will hopefully provide a basis for the necessary reconstructive work which must be undertaken by the role-players in the medical schemes industry. [email protected] Pretoria News

Cyberpunk 2077: Second Lawsuit Filed Against CD Projekt - IGN Africa

Investors are unhappy.

A second class-action lawsuit has been filed against Cyberpunk 2077 developer and publisher, CD Projekt, submitted by a law firm representing the studios investors. CD Projekt itself states in a regulatory announcement that it has received the lawsuit, which has been filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of investors. The content of the claim is said to be the same as the one filed against the studio at the end of last year. That first lawsuit claims that investors were misled about the performance of Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. The announcement states that the complaint has not specified the quantity of damages sought, so its currently unknown how much the investors would like to claim. Regardless of what those eventual damages may amount to, CDP intends to undertake vigorous action to defend itself against any such claims. This is, once again, the same response the company had to the previous lawsuit submitted by New York-based Rosen Law Firm. Cyberpunk 2077s launch has not been a smooth one, but the implications of its poor performance reach far beyond some unsatisfied players. The huge anticipation for the game generated significant expectations from investors, and so the fallout - involving Cyberpunks removal from the PlayStation Store - is of large concern. Furthermore, CD Projekts approach to player refund is under investigation from Polands consumer protection agency. The agency has the power to fine CDP up to 10% of its income should it deem their refund practice unsatisfactory. Despite all this, Cyberpunk 2077 has been a commercial success for CD Projekt, with 13 million copies sold, even accounting for refunds. Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Covid-19 vaccine: Health officials get process underway to appoint distributors - News24

National Treasury has granted the Department of Health permission to directly appoint the Biovac Institute to store and distribute the 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccines that it is in the process of acquiring from India.

National Treasury has granted the Department of Health permission to directly appoint the Biovac Institute to store and distribute the 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccines that it is in the process of acquiring from India. A letter written by the Treasury's director-general Dondo Mogajane to Corruption Watch on Monday, showed that officials granted the Department of Health permission to deviate from normal tender procedures and directly appoint the Biovac Institute to store and distribute the vaccine for three months.