Bonitas pathetic service

My mother is 71 years old and living off a very low income that includes her monthly Sassa pension. She has never been on medical aid in her life until last year and as a pensioner she never expected Bonitas to ask her to verify her income on an annual basis. When she did not respond to their written letters THEY INCREASED HER CONTRIBUTION FROM R1760 to R4768.

Even though she submitted all her documents and an affidavit explaining her circumstances before they deducted that amount THEY STILL SUSPENDED HER MEMBERSHIP!!!!

Only on Friday 20 December 2019 Bonitas decided to make use of a more effective SMS to inform her that she (as a pensioner) was placed on the highest income bracket for not responding to their income verification request letters. We immediately responded and helped her submit her documents and an affidavit explaining her circumstances. On 24 December we were told that her case is special, it is therefore being investigated and we should have an answer by 6 January. By the first week of January her account was already suspended because of insufficient funds to pay the R4768 contribution.

We were forced to pay the full amount and we were told that it wont be reimbursed because she responded too late. R4768 FOR FAILING TO RESPOND TO LETTERS.

I am confident that we are not the first family experiencing this and we wont be the last. In South Africa there are many previously disadvantaged elderly people that are late joiners due to the old system that crippled them. These are old people desperate to have proper medical care in a country where public health is on its knees. There is therefore NO DOUBT that families will find ways to avoid a suspension and rather put themselves in debt. To some it becomes a matter of life and death.

It makes you wonder:

- Why expect Sassa pensioners to verify their income annually? - Why send written letters and only use other more effective means of communication when it is too late? - WHY increase a Sassa pensioners not responding FROM THE LOWEST TO THE HIGHEST income bracket? -Why suspend a pensioners medical aid even though they received all the necessary documents and an affidavit before the deduction was made? -WHY NOT CHANGE THIS POLICY AFTER SO MANY YEARS PENSIONERS CHILDREN HAVE WRITTEN REVIEWS SIMILAR TO MINE ON THIS PLATFORM????

My guess is that it is all about making more money off these people and that is PATHETIC OF BONITAS!!!

More platforms should be used to warn people of this type of service from Bonitas