Africa-Press – Botswana. Parliament has passed the Medical Aid Funds Bill 2025, (Bill No. 5 of 2025) that seeks to provide for the regulation and administration of medical aid funds, including medical aid fund administrators medical aid fund brokers and managed care organisations operating in Botswana.
Reporting the bill from committee stage with amendments on Monday, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said the bill was also meant to ensure protection of members of medical aid funds by enhancing their financial soundness and for purposes incidental there too and connected there with.
Previously, when presenting the bill for its second reading, Mr Gaolathe explained that the bill, which had 87 clauses, was aimed at providing for effective regulation and supervision of the medical aid funds sector in the country by laying a foundation for effective governance, transparency and sustainability of the sector.
Currently, he said medical aid funds were regulated by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act (NBFIRA Act), using the general provisions of the Act.
Once developed, he said the bill would help address the oversight gap, which posed risks not only to the financial system, but also to the health outcomes and citizens contributions.
Mr Gaolathe, who is also Vice President, therefore, thanked all MPs for their comments and support of the Medical Aid Funds Bill 2025, published on March 10, saying it would cover only medical aid funds operating on a not-for-profit model.
“This bill may not provide all the answers. However, the reforms we undertake today must be designed not only to correct, but to inspire and create a home where excellence is expected and honour is ordinary,” he said.
Having passed its second reading, the bill continued to committee stage and was passed after third reading without any amendments to Clauses 1 to 58, as well as from Clauses 60 to 87.
However, to ensure alignment in the process for the approval of the managed care organisations under the bill, he moved for an amendment of the bill on Clause 59 1(a), appearing on page B. 48, by substituting the word accreditation with the word approval.
The amendment, he said was intended to avoid double regulation, as the regulatory authority would only approve and not accredit managed care organisations, since they were already regulated by the Ministry of Health.
The bill passed with a majority of 28 votes out of 30.
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