The Council for Medical Schemes has announced an extension to the deadline for insurers to submit information regarding their medical scheme business operations. Initially scheduled for 30 June 2024, the new deadline for Phase 2 of the submission process is now 30 August 2024.
CMS previously outlined a two-phase submission process in Circular 16 of 2024, with Phase 1 concluding on 30 April 2024. However, due to technical challenges within the healthcare utilization IT system, the commencement of Phase 2 has been delayed.
As a temporary measure, insurers are required to manually submit their demarcation information between 1 and 30 August 2024. To facilitate this process, CMS has provided a specification document containing 19 spreadsheets (DM1-DM19). The first sheet in each spreadsheet offers guidance, while the remaining sheets require insurers to input their data for submission.
This extension is intended to provide insurers with additional time to accurately compile and submit the necessary information in compliance with regulatory requirements. CMS acknowledges the complexity of data gathering and verification and aims to support insurers in fulfilling their obligations.