ARE MEDICAL AID: HOSPITAL PLANS FOR OLD AGE PARENTS A MONEY MAKING SCHEME?

My mum (86yrs) lives in an old age home in Pietermaritzburg. I live in Gauteng. When my mum retired, she could not afford to stay on Bonitas: Standard option and since I am a single parent, I opted for the Boncap Hospital plan. My mum is a cardiac patient with coronary artery disease and now dementia. In Sept 2024, she experienced chest pains and was rushed to Mediclinic. The nurse at the old age home phoned Boncap to obtain permission & it was granted since it's was an emergency. The doctor in ER (who has not been paid to date by Boncap) indicated that she had to be admitted for further tests since she is a high risk patient. A phone call was made to Midlands hospital from Mediclinic and the ambulance driver was told that there is no beds at Midlands Hospital, and in light of this, my mum (Mrs Kistnasamy) could be taken to St Annes Hospital since it's an emergency and her cardiologist is there. She was taken to St Anne's Hospital in the ambulance. Her cardiologist attended to her whilst at St Anne's Hospital. He also provided a motivation letter to Boncap Medical Aid, including her heart history. Kindly advice on the following:

1. How do I get permission when I live in another province? I have made numerous phone calls and sent e-mails to Bonitas/Boncap regarding this hospital payment. I was told via e-mail that it's in process (from Sept 2024 to Feb 2025). Today, I received an e-mail that Boncap will not pay her bill since no authorization was received for an emergency. Netcare Hospital sent me a bill of R27 000 that must be paid ASAP since I did not get authorization. What do I do?

In the last 26 years, Bonitas: Boncap has diligently debited my account for my mum's monthly medical Aid contribution and I have never had a problem, but why is now, in times of need, they are shirking their payment responsibility?