The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says it is disappointed by the decision taken by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to only increase the annual professional fee for doctors and dentists. The council announced an increase of 15 percent for consultations.
Media Release | The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says the annual professional fee increase of 15% by the Health Profhttps://t.co/A1rYYf7vkK pic.twitter.com/NPhA0sZ204
— SAMA (@SAMedicalAssoc) March 24, 2021
Chairperson of SAMA, Dr Angelique Coetzee, says they feel unfairly treated by the council as other medical boards’ fees have not been increased.
Coetzee says, “You need to be fair, if you didn’t increase any of the fees of the 11 other boards why did you increase the fees of the medical and dental boards. Our gut feeling is that the medical and dental board is actually the group of doctors that is supporting financially the HPCSA and therefore we are the easy target as well.”
In a statement, SAMA called on the Minister of Health and the President to review the decision by the HPCSA and to apply the same considerations on the Medical and Dental Professions Board as has been applied to other Professional Boards.
“It’s vital for our medical community, already extremely stretched, to believe in the support and recognition of our regulator and government, not to feel maligned through what is clearly an unfair increase to their annual fees,” says Dr Coetzee.
Freezing salaries of public sector medics counterproductive: SAMA
In February, SAMA said while wage freezes in the public sector will ease government’s financial burdens – particularly in the long-term – they must be done with more circumspection.
The organisation was reacting to the Finance Minister’s budget speech, which indicated that the government’s wage freeze on public servants was paying off.
In the 2021 Budget Review, Minister Tito Mboweni said government expenditure will go down by R264.9 billion over the next three years due to the wage freeze.
Budget allocations in critical sectors:
However, SAMA warns that a blanket approach in the bid to cut down the bloated public service wage bill could have major consequences for the government down the line.
