Chairman's end-of-year message

2021 seems to have flown by and regrettably the Covid-19 pandemic still hangs over our heads. The serious consequences have been far reaching. Many have lost loved ones, been seriously ill themselves and all have had their lives curtailed in efforts to avoid becoming affected. The impact on the economy, jobs and family income have been devastating for many. The Trustees and the participating employers of AMS as well as the Scheme have responded and adapted proactively to adapt to these new challenges for AMS members.

With new Covid-19 strains and variants continuing to emerge, as individuals we need to consider our own protection as well as that of our loved ones and the people we interact with in the normal events of our daily lives. Vaccines are scientifically proven to be our best course of protection against Covid-19, particularly in preventing hospitalisation and death. The Trustees encourage all AMS members to get vaccinated, if they have not already done so, at the earliest possible opportunity to help protect themselves, their families and communities.

The management and administrators of the Scheme have worked energetically and as flexibly as possible through the challenges presented by Covid and have drawn comfort from the knowledge that if AMS keeps doing the right things in the right way and for the right reasons, all will benefit, none more importantly than our members. The efforts exerted to assist members in understanding and obtaining vaccines is but one case in point. The rapid response to supply oxygen to members at home in a bid to keep them safe is another, a rich post-Covid-19 benefit, and so much more. The team's resilience was again seriously tested in 2021. The disruptions to daily lives caused by the pandemic brought many challenges, but with them, some interesting lessons.

While we knew the significance of providing an efficient professional service to our members, maintaining the personal contact whether through the Scheme's call centre, our Client Liaison Officers, the Head Office or the virtual meetings became all important. Just as keeping in touch with colleagues, family and friends was a top priority on the morning to-do list, so was ensuring a friendly voice was always available to assist members. Even through the riotous outburst, our KZN call centre managed to continue to serve. The Trustees are truly grateful to Discovery and the teams concerned. Their dedication and ingenuity were inspirational

In looking back over the year, Covid-19 has brought with it great possibilities, the virtual world accelerated, virtual communication has developed exponentially, become accepted and is now part of our daily lives, including the delivery of healthcare services. Artificial Intelligence, something many may have feared, has been successfully deployed in areas such as tracing the spread of Covid, rapidly developing vaccines and predicting potential side effects on a global scale. We now have an opportunity to use real-time data in predictive disease modelling to better inform planning and healthcare decision making. All this relied heavily on the collection and sharing of data and resources within organisations and economic sectors, between sectors and across countries. It highlighted that private healthcare can collaborate with the public sector to the benefit of all. We proved our healthcare system, although far from ideal, was not as weak as originally envisaged by the rest of the world. It showed us the value of belonging to a medical scheme, and I'd like to think that in the case of AMS, this was valued by all. It also restored some confidence in the local stock markets. I am pleased to report the rebound reversed most of the 2020 investment portfolio losses and strengthened our reserves again, essential to the continued provision of healthcare funding into the future and a unique feature of AMS.

To be trusted, we must be trustworthy. AMS has a long-standing reputation built on the wisdom of those before us to prefund the Scheme's ageing liability, but it goes beyond that to looking after the needs of our members. In a world where member expectations are increasing almost daily it's vital that we maintain an unwavering commitment to quality and to meet these expectations. We are grateful to all our partners in helping us achieve this goal and become stronger along the way.

In closing, I wish you all well for the holiday season. Stay safe in the knowledge we will overcome Covid, enjoy your loved ones and be kind to yourselves. May the New Year bring happiness and joy to you all.

With very best wishes
Colleen Elliot
Chairman

Published: December 2021.