Many members of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) might cancel their policies after GEMS’s decision to increase membership subscription by 13.4% for 2025, reported MedicalBrief (8 Jan 2025).
The increase will cause a salary decrease for many public servants, making medical aid unaffordable, according to union, Public Servants Association (PSA) said.
In a recent Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) meeting with GEMS, the PSA and other unions rejected the proposed increase.
However, GEMS principal officer Dr Stanley Moloabi said the contribution increase had been carefully determined based on the anticipated healthcare funding needs of its beneficiaries for 2025.