The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is introducing a new requirement for people applying to be accredited as healthcare brokers for the first time, or brokers renewing their accreditation and whose qualifications have not been verified by the CMS.
From 1 December, broker applicants must verify and pay for the verification of their qualifications before applying for accreditation.
This process will apply to new applicants and renewal applicants whose qualifications were not previously verified by the CMS, the council said in a circular.
Applicants must submit the verification report from the verification agents and the relevant supporting documents, together with the application form.
“Failure by the applicants to submit the verification report, together with the relevant supporting documents, will delay the processing of the application forms and have an impact on the outcome of the applications.
“The qualification verification is a once-off process. If the qualification was previously verified by the CMS, the broker applicant will not be required to verify the qualification again,” the circular said.
Applicants can contact the CMS Contact Centre on 0861 123 267 to confirm whether or not their qualifications were previously verified.
The council said it started verifying the qualifications submitted by broker applicants with Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) in 2014. The CMS has verified about 10 810 qualifications received from new and renewal broker applicants.
Applicants who want to verify their qualifications with MIE can visit MIE’s website, www.mie.co.za, and register on the MIE Electronic Personal Credential Verification website.
The user manual on the CMS website explains how to register and upload documents to the ePVC website.
When entering registration details, applicants provide their personal email address and the CMS email address, verifyreports@medicalschemes.co.za. All documentation and verification results will be sent to both email addresses.
The CMS said it will receive proof of applicants’ MIE verification reports, so they won’t have to upload the reports when applying for accreditation with the CMS.
The council will not have to validate the reports received directly from MIE. However, verification reports from other verification agents will have to be verified by the CMS, “which will affect the turnaround time of the application process”.
