Strata Healthcare barred from administering medical aid schemes

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) on Monday withdrew accreditation of Strata Healthcare Management as a managed care organisation with effect from May 31.

CMS said this follows Strata’s failure to meet ‘the fit and proper’ criteria for rendering medical scheme administration services, as set out in Medical Schemes Act. Strata was the fourth largest medical scheme administrator in South Africa.

The regulator of the medical schemes industry said the decision was taken by the CMS during a meeting held last week.

CMS spokesperson Pulane Molefe said that was preceded by a Council Executive Committee decision not to renew Strata’s accreditation as a medical scheme administrator in December 2015.

The accreditation was not renewed due to the company’s failure to meet statutory requirements.

Strata previously rendered administration and managed care services to Medihelp medical scheme, one of the five largest medical schemes in South Africa.

Molefe said all the scheme’s administration and managed care services were now vested in Medihelp following sanctions imposed by the CMS on Strata.

Strata was not immediately available for comment. But responding last year to the decision not to renew its accreditation as a medical scheme administrator, Strata said CMS had failed to record that its decision was a subject of an appeal.

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