OUTCOME OF THE SGM HELD ON 26 JULY 2023
Fedhealth held a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Wednesday, 26 July 2023. This meeting took place online and in-person to address and vote on three motions brought forward by five members of Fedhealth (former Topmed and Fedhealth Trustees). The 5 members who requisitioned the SGM are Mr Trevor Jackson, Mr Phil Hemus, Mr Nick Byrne, Mr Andre Fourie and Mr Jakobus Viljoen.
Motion 1
The removal of Mrs Angela Gahagan-Thomson as a member of the Board of Trustees due to an alleged irregularity on her CV.
Response from the Fedhealth Board
- Motion 1 contains statements which are factually incorrect.
- Mrs Angela Gahagan-Thomson was appointed as a Director of the Liberty Business Unit of Medscheme in 2003, for which the Scheme has a copy of her appointment letter as proof. Therefore her CV did not misrepresent her position.
- It is abundantly clear from a review of Mrs Gahagan-Thomson’s CV that she:
- Is a seasoned executive
- Has skills that are valuable to the Board.
Result of voting:
For: 4 votes (2.35%)
Against: 166 votes (97.65%)
Abstain: 13
Motion 2
- Introduce a rule that limits the number of terms for members of the Board of Trustees to two consecutive terms of three years without a break.
- The application of the rule change would be retrospective, effectively ending the continued service of several experienced and knowledgeable Trustees.
Response from the Fedhealth Board
- While there may be some argument for term limits, those arguments don’t really apply to medical scheme Boards where institutional knowledge is essential, especially if there is a third-party administrator.
Result of voting:
For: 14 votes (8.00%)
Against: 161 votes (92.00%)
Abstain: 8
Motion 3
A call to replace the Principal Officer by 31 August 2023 as a result of poor scheme performance due to, inter alia, the introduction of the MediVault facility, poor service levels, and a strategy to pursue individuals rather than group membership.
Response from the Fedhealth Board
- The Scheme is not in a crisis and is being well managed with prudent fiscal processes, as evidenced by the retention of the Global Credit Rating score of AA-, the second highest rating and which the Scheme has had since 2007.
- The Medical Scheme industry is facing many challenges, most notably the economic position of the country, forcing many people to choose whether or not to remain on a scheme. Younger and healthier members are less likely to remain on as their medical requirements are commonly less than their contributions. By dropping out they exacerbate the cross-subsidy challenges facing schemes.
- The MediVault product is an innovative way of providing benefits to members that meet their needs and their products, has seen enhancements to improve simplicity and is now much better understood by members in general.
- The strategy of the Scheme is not to focus only on individuals. Group risk (large employer groups) is often better than individual membership, but it is harder to penetrate.
- The strategy is multi-pronged; individuals, smaller employers, and interfacing with corporate brokers to secure access to larger employers.
- The Scheme has taken numerous steps to address these challenges.
Result of voting:
For: 5 votes (2.65%)
Against: 184 votes (97.35%)
Abstain: 6
Conclusion
It is the sincere hope and wish of the Board that members will not let this incident affect the trust they place in Fedhealth to take care of their health. The Scheme is in good hands and is well run.
To view the minutes of the Special General Meeting, please click here.
