Multi scheme administrator and managed care services provider, Medscheme has been awarded the administration and managed care contracts for Oxygen Medical Scheme.
Oxygen, which is currently administered by Old Mutual Healthcare, covers approximately 70 000 principal members and the take on of the scheme by Medscheme in July 2009 will boost the number of total lives under administration by the company to over two million.
“This is a particularly proud day for Medscheme,” says Divisional Managing Director of Medscheme Health, Kevin Aron (pictured). “Oxygen’s Board of Trustees followed the stringent process required by legislation which included the issuing of formal tenders followed by a rigorous evaluation of competing proposals. After careful consideration by the Trustees, Medscheme’s tender was successful.”
Aron believes that Medscheme’s holistic and integrated approach to administration and managed care was one of the factors which led to Medscheme being awarded the contracts.
Adding to these comments, Medscheme Health Risk Solutions Divisional Managing Director, Pieter Dorfling says, “Medscheme has an integrated medical scheme administration and managed care model which includes a number of advantages over the traditional approach. This model is underpinned by our IT platform which made the information technology component of the tender very important. Our primary focus is to deliver market leading managed care and wellness solutions that integrate seamlessly with the administration services.”
Medscheme’s shareholders, Lethimvula Investments Limited, recently signed an agreement with Old Mutual Healthcare in terms of which Lethimvula will acquire 100% of Old Mutual Healthcare however Aron pointed out that the two events are not related. “Oxygen Medical Scheme and Old Mutual Healthcare are completely separate entities. The Trustees commissioned an external company to carry out independent quality audits to evaluate our capability to deliver”, he said.
“The healthcare industry is currently experiencing a period of consolidation as well as the emergence of new and competing interests. We believe that Medscheme’s established track record and reputation for service excellence are an important source of comfort for those considering how best to manage their medical scheme and healthcare needs”, concluded Aron.