Motsoaledi to act on report into medical aid schemes’ discrimination

Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi says he will act in due course on recommendations contained in a report on medical aid schemes.

The Section 59 Investigation Panel into allegations of racial discrimination by medical aid schemes against black healthcare providers concluded that the right of procedural fairness of some individual practitioners was violated.

Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi today, Monday 07 July, received the investigation report on the findings of the inquiry conducted by Section 59 Investigation Panel into allegations of racial discrimination by medical schemes against black health care providers. pic.twitter.com/oIJv3sW6eU

— National Department of Health (@HealthZA) July 7, 2025

Dr Motsoaledi has confirmed that Discovery, Gems and Medscheme are among the medical aid schemes implicated in the report.

“Today they were now releasing the final findings that indeed they found it to be true that there’s racial profiling and racial action taken against black doctors, Africans Indians and Coloureds. They concentrated mostly on three medical schemes that is Discovery, Gems and Medscheme. The three of them constituted 80% of all the members of medical schemes in the country and if you are able to make findings on 80% statistically it means the other 20% will fall in place.”