No Meds if you Don't Pay your old Debt

Gooday

I know, contacting Hello Peter sounds a bit desperate but this is ultimately the one of the last options I have as a contributing member.

Overall, Platinum Health Medical aid used to be very good to us, until they built the clinic in Mokopane and forced us all to make use of the clinic. Nevertheless, this is not my complaint.

I want to know, is it ethically correct for a medical aid to "block" an account for (obviously ) urgent medication for (very long) overdue excess monies that was outstanding?

Understanding, this levy or excess was outstanding since 2017 and it totally slipped my mind as this was the first time in 10 years of service, ever needing to pay excess on my medication. I NEVER EVER received a statement or any demand for payment after I neglected to pay.

They apparently changed staff and the decided to block individual's accounts until they paid their outstanding accounts.

Im not clued up with any of this, because it's the first time something like this has ever happened to me in my 50 years. What if my wife had a relapse? What if she wasn't as lucky as last month when she was hospitalized for spasms that caused heart spasms? What would I tell our 11 year old son and all the other kids and grandkids? All of this just because I owed Platinum Health Medical Aid R329.00.

Why couldn't Platinum Health just email statements like any other company? Sending smses that failed to deliver, does not count as a reminder. Sending smses is not how I ever noted any account details, yet this is my first encounter.

I might be wrong, but what are the procedures set out in the new credit law? Are you allowed to withhold any medicine from a patient as punishment for an outstanding account? Is it al all permitted by law?

I would gladly await a response regarding this matter.

PS: And my wife still hasn't received the medication that has another excess that I will pay as soon as it is received and it's now two weeks.