I owe the Scheme money? How did that happen and what are the consequences?
Did you know that there are instances in which you can end up owing the Scheme money?
Examples of how you can get into debt with the Scheme:
- Managed Care Plan: You withdraw your membership in the middle of the year and you have spent more from your Medical Savings Account (MSA) than you have contributed to it.
- Managed Care Plan: You withdraw a dependant from your membership in the middle of the year, and have spent more from your Medical Savings Account (MSA) than you have contributed to it for the time that your dependant was on your membership.
- Managed Care Plan: You withdraw your membership in the middle of the year and you have spent more from your Medical Savings Account (MSA) than you have contributed to it.
- All plans: A claim was paid to you and to the provider and needs to be reversed.
What happens once debt has been created?
Within 30 days of the debt becoming due, the Scheme will send you a letter informing you of the debt and how you can repay the Scheme. A debt collection clerk will call you and an SMS will be sent to the number the Scheme has on file for you. If you are still an active member as part of your employer group, a notification will also be sent to your employer, informing them of the debt due on your membership. If the Scheme does not receive a reply, another letter is sent out in the second month of the debt being due. A third letter is sent if no reply to the first two letters is received. Calls and text messages will continue during this period. After all attempts to make contact have failed, a report is generated and handed over to debt collection attorneys. At this point your credit record may be adversely impacted and your Scheme membership (if you haven’t officially withdrawn from the Scheme) will be suspended.
If the amount you owe equals one month’s standard adult contribution on your particular plan type, or is R1 000 or more, your membership will be suspended within 30 days of the debt being created if you do not reply to any of the calls, text messages or letters informing you of the outstanding amount. In addition, any claims payments due to you will first be offset by the amount owed to the Scheme before any payments are released into your bank account.
How to manage debt on your membership
Sometimes it is inevitable that debt will be created on your membership due to circumstances beyond your control (a processing error or your dependant needing to resign from the Scheme).
However, if you stay informed and consider these tips you can manage debt on your membership:
- Advanced savings for you and your dependant(s) for the year are allocated to your MSA at the beginning of the year. If you or your dependant(s) leave the Scheme in the middle of the year, the amount paid from savings in respect of claims might be more than you were entitled to at the date of the withdrawal. This money is payable to the Scheme.
- Keep a close eye on your statements and check for claims reversals. This could be a processing error, or a provider may have submitted a claim to the Scheme in error, which needed to be reversed and reprocessed, causing debt on your membership.
- Don’t delay in contacting us to verify the origin of the debt and discuss your options for re-payment.
- Bear in mind that any claims payments that are owing to you will first be used to offset the debt owing to the Scheme.
- To avoid your membership being suspended, keep a record of payments made and do your best to stick to payment arrangements.
- Always keep your contact details up-to-date so that we can reach you to resolve any debt issues as soon as possible. Update your details in the member log-in on www.angloms.co.za or call us on 0860 222 633.