HI
Helmut I

1 reviews | Active since Feb 2018

07 Jul 2020, 11:53

Bonitas not covering Diabetes (PMB) treatment in full despite doctor's motivation

My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year. This is a PMB condition that all medical aids must cover. The cover had been fine until earlier this year, when suddenly they reduced cover so much that we had to start funding part of the monthly expenses ourselves. In particular, instead of covering the cost of 100 needles, they suddenly dropped that to 30. That means you have one needle per day. They say that you should re-use a needle for multiple injections of insulin per day. This goes contrary to all advice received from multiple doctors and nurses. It is a health risk to re-use needles, yet Bonitas recommends it. Even the manufacturer of the needles says that they should not be re-used, since they are not designed for re-use. They are single-use needles. After having the doctor send through a motivation (at our own cost), Bonitas increased the cover to 60 needles, even though the doctor states that we need over 100 needles per month. In fact we need close to 150-180 needles per month for all the injections by now. Since type 1 Diabetes is a PMB, Bonitas is required to cover the related costs, yet they are not doing so, even with motivation from a doctor. If a doctor's motivation is not even enough, what else is there? Sounds like Bonitas is making medical treatment decisions themselves. Really disappointed.

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Replies (3)
Bonitas Medical Fund
Bonitas Medical Fund's reply07 Jul 2020, 15:26
Official
Hello Helmut I,

Thank you for submitting your details to us through Hello Peter.

This is to confirm that we have received your information and that we are currently investigating this matter.  

We appreciate your patience while we are resolving this query for you.  

Regards,

Bonitas Team                                                                                                                                                       
HI
Helmut I's update09 Jul 2020, 09:36
Reviewer Update
Thank you, Bonitas, for having very quickly raised the needle limit to 100 now. It's still not quite what we need at the moment, but at least it's back to what we got previously.
Bonitas Medical Fund
Bonitas Medical Fund's reply10 Jul 2020, 13:26
Official
Hello Helmut I,

Thank you for submitting a comment to us through Hellopeter.

According to the telephonic conversation with our representative, we hereby confirm that your concern has been addressed and this matter has now been resolved.

As Bonitas we strive to give the best customer service to our clients and appreciate it when you bring your concerns to our attention when we have failed to deliver this service.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused to you.

Thanks and regards,

Bonitas Team