Altfin and NetOne launch mobile phone based medical aid service

NewsDay reports today that an Altfin Holdings subsidiary, Altfin Medical Aid Scheme, and state owned mobile operator, NetOne, have launched a new mobile phone based medical aid scheme. The scheme is called MedAccess. NetOne is the technical partner in the project. Subscribers will be able to register for the new service using their NetOne mobile phone numbers as the medical scheme’s registration numbers.

The scheme is targeting low income workers in the informal sector, and will require them to pay only US $3 a month to get medical cover. Transactions will be carried out using mobile phones and subscribers will be charged US 20 cents per transaction by NetOne.

The actual medical attention for the covered subscribers will be accessed at government hospitals, mission hospitals and municipal clinics.

This is the second time in Zimbabwe that a large mobile operator has partnered a traditional insurance company to provide insurance cover over a mobile phone service. Last year, Econet launched Ecolife, a life insurance value added service underwritten by First Mutual Life. Econet subscribers would qualify for life insurance based on a minimum airtime usage per month. The service however ran into problems about 7 months after launch due to a dispute with the provider of the software running the system.