Bestmed Medical Scheme is committed to good corporate governance .
The Council for M edical S chemes (CMS) informed the Scheme on Thursday 13 th November 2014 that nine members of the current Board of Trustees of Bestmed would be removed from office with immediate effect . Although these members of the Board of Trustees have been removed , the registered Rules of the Scheme make provision for the immediate filling of v acanc ies by the remaining members of the Board. The Board has bee n reconstituted and is fully functional. It will meet during the week of 24 th November in order to elect a Chairperson, Vice - Chairperson and statutory committees’ members.
Dries la Grange, CEO of Bestmed, comments to the ruling , “ During 2011 the CMS carried out a routine inspection at Bestmed . The Scheme has, during the period since then, been willingly and actively engaged with the CMS in addressing the concerns the inspection had raised and the directives that were issued by it . As there have been no ca lls on us by the CMS for the past many months, it was presumed that all these matters had been dealt with.
The CMS ’s action on the 13 this , under these circumstances, a great disappointment, e specially so when one considers that three years have passed since the initial routine inspection occurred . Under these conditions we find it improper that such dr astic measures, delivered without any engagement with the affected Trustees , were deemed necessary .” What has become a significant concern is that it has come to our attention that the CMS has released information to the public concerning this action that inter alia contains serious inaccuracies in relation to amounts apparently spent inappropriately and makes no mention of monies recovered where the Scheme ’s Board and management believed this was necessary to protect our members’ best interests.
The Scheme reported these matters to members at the AGM in 2012 and again in 2014. Bestmed ’s current status reflects a scheme with a healthy risk profile, tight go vernance, with one of the lowest administrative cost in the industry and with more than sufficient reserves . Furthermore the annual contribution increases over the last three years have been in the lower quartile of the medical scheme industry.
Our member s have, at all times, been able to see from the tight management of the Scheme’s total non - healthcare costs that their funds were not wasted but used too good effect in growing the Scheme in such a manner that all members benefit. These achievements have all been made possible by a competent and diligent Board of Trustees, and the Scheme’s Executives and employee compl e ment. In order to strengthen Scheme governance , new principles for marketing expenditure were tabled at the AGM during May 2014 , which t he members approved by a huge majority vote. Again an action by the same Board of Trustees. Bestmed has instituted urgent legal action against the Council for Medical Schemes .
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