I was asked by Namdeb pensioner and current Oranjemunder, Ivan Pheko to post the following on his behalf, (Makes a change that it is not me complaining swink ) , but perhaps, Ivan does have a point.
"Good day The Reader
This letter is addressed to all retired and soon to retire, members belonging to the Namdeb Medical aid fund. It is a call to your sense of seriousness about the relationship between yourself and how the medical aid and the Oranjemund hospital deal with retirees. Members can only experience what a retiree experience once they get there. One thing is certain; you will be in my shoes some time in the future.
Trying to avoid any melodrama I share the following. In 2010 I suffered a heart attack. Whilst unconscious my wife had to run gauntlets with clerk and secretaries at the medical aid administrator's office to try and get approval for my stay in hospital and subsequent treatment in Cape Town. Consultations with board members from Oranjemund including the chief medical officer at the time came to naught. After some correspondences and the aid of my attending physician, approval was finally granted; this was not without a fight.
Recently my wife attended the Oranjemund hospital she was asked to pay a surcharge of N$200. When she enquired with the local medical scheme office about this they were oblivious to it.
In my quest for more information the following truths dawned on me:
• Retirees do not have a voice at the medical aid board
• There are differences in the benefits to retirees and working members (we retire under the notion that all members are equal)
• We do not feature in the notices of changes, we only hear of things once we are exposed to them or at the next AGM
It is imperative that we have at least one retired medical aid member on the board of trustees.
The notice period that was available to submit nominations was very short. In the absence of mobilisation time I managed to get myself nominated for the forthcoming elections. I request your vote so that we can get a foothold into the board and from then on maintain that foothold with whoever will be the person that we nominate as the next trustee.
If we do not look out for ourselves nobody is going to do it for us.
Vote for the CAUSE
Vote with your HEAD not your heart
We are the only ones who will speak for ourselves."
Ivan can be contacted on ivan.pat@iway.na
More from Ivan,
and...
ON behalf of John Darne, Ex Namdeb employee and now pensioner...
"I just want to get my 10 cents worth with regard to the Namdeb Medical Aid. A couple of years after I retired I had a heart attack. At Panorama Hospital they did a 7 by-pass. Medical aid covered the whole thing. God knows what that cost. They are also covering my monthly chronic meds. Last year after experiencing stomach pains they found I had colon cancer. After a major op I was put on chemo and also had MRI scans. This was also fully covered. Then after persistent bleeding from one nostril I had a nose op at the beginning of this year - also fully covered. I would never have managed to cover the costs of all this medical treatment out of my own pocket. LONG LIVE Namdeb Medical Aid."