<\/p>\n
Health Squared Medical Aid Scheme informed its members on August 18 that it will cease operations on September 1.<\/p>\n
The scheme\u2019s official statement said: \u201cIt is critical that members are informed that the Scheme will be voluntarily wound up as a solvent business with assets that currently exceed liabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement goes on to say that \u201cit is clear that the scheme\u2019s financial position will deteriorate further, to the extent that towards the end of 2022 the Scheme will have reached such a low level of reserves that it may not be able to meet members\u2019 claims as they arise.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the scheme\u2019s members, Sharon Waison, who was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in 2001 at the age of 10 and who will turn 31 this year, is in the battle of for her life after being informed two weeks ago that their medical aid is closing. <\/p>\n
This means that as of right now, she has no medical assistance to help with her three days per week of dialysis. She is one of many people who are in a life-or-death situation as a result of the medical aid\u2019s liquidation.<\/p>\n
Being someone whose lupus was diagnosed at such a young age, requiring doctors to begin her treatment with strong immunosuppressants like corticosteroids and chemotherapy drugs, her use of this medication from a young age and throughout her life has caused irreparable harm to her body and organs, particularly her kidneys.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Waison was diagnosed with renal failure. She began compulsory hemodialysis treatment in 2017, three times a week. Initially, the dialysis treatments served their purpose, and she could continue her day-to-day activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on the top 50 list for a kidney transplant for at least about three years. It\u2019s been a long wait since then. In 2015 I had issues with getting access for dialysis. I had about 13 operations on my arm just to try and find an access point to dialyze through,\u201d Waison told IOL lifestyle.<\/p>\n
Due to a blood-thinning medication that caused further complications, Waison was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in March 2021 with internal bleeding from an unidentified source. <\/p>\n
Within a few days, her condition rapidly deteriorated, and the doctors warned her mother to prepare for the worst.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom was told to call family and friends to come say their goodbyes. I was in a coma for four days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n When she woke up, she had lost all muscular movement and sensation in her forearms and hands. Doctors predicted that she would never be able to regain use of her hands.<\/p>\n Being a formidable fighter, she proved them wrong and had full functionality of both her hands within eight months. \u201cI worked really hard to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFunny enough, this year I ended up in ICU on what was supposed to be my death anniversary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The financial implications from medical bills for the last two years have exhausted the medical aid funds of her mother Vanessa Waison\u2019s policy. <\/p>\n They have been left with a combined and substantial hospital bill of over R550 000 for 2021 and R250 000 for 2022.<\/p>\n She requires specially imported filters for each dialysis session (costing approximately R15 000 per filter). Sharon has experienced many painstaking complications.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not nice to hear that your medical aid is closing, especially for someone like me. My doctor has been trying to get me to dialyze at Helen Joseph, but there\u2019s an approximately two-week waiting period,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Waison says her doctor told her: \u201cWith 0% kidney function, you don\u2019t have a week, let alone two weeks; you\u2019ll die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unfair that we received notice that the medical aid scheme is ceasing operations in less than two weeks to find alternatives of where we can go. <\/p>\n \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a confirmation of where the scheme will relocate its clientele, for me this is a life and death situation. Without treatment I die, that\u2019s pretty much my reality right now, without dialysis my body will become so toxic I\u2019ll die.<\/p>\n \u201cMy doctor is doing everything she can to help. She has been in contact with the Fourways Life board about performing dialysis pro bono for at least a month or two until my medical insurance is sorted. I\u2019ve been receiving daily dialysis in that hospital for the past five years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As her body and energy levels have declined, she has had to give up her passion for playing online games and competing at a professional level. <\/p>\n \u201cMy mother is overwhelmed by the mounting medical debt. Due to my frequent hospital visits, I am unable to work. We rely on medical aid because I\u2019m too sick to work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Read the latest issue of IOL Health digital magazine here.<\/p>\n