
GEMS targets future contribution relief after CMS setback
The scheme says R1.7 billion in projected savings could moderate future increases as it prepares for robust talks with organised labour.

The scheme says R1.7 billion in projected savings could moderate future increases as it prepares for robust talks with organised labour.

The CMS argues that a 7.5% increase would have weakened GEMS’s financial sustainability and shifted costs to members in future.

The regulator has rejected the scheme’s proposal to reduce its weighted average contribution adjustment to 7.5%, leaving the existing 9.5% increase in place.

Twenty years of industry data show that medical schemes have become increasingly dependent on scale, investment returns, and strong reserves to remain sustainable.

The comment comes amid a growing standoff between organised labour and GEMS after the scheme announced a 9.8% contribution increase for 2026.

The Board of Healthcare Funders and Discovery Health say the panel’s final report on FWA investigations rests on flawed methodology and the misinterpretation of data.