Take, for example, the new medical tariff guidelines published by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA).

Instead of bringing clarity to a situation that has been in flux since the North Gauteng High Court declared the national health reference price list invalid in 2010, the new guidelines have caused uproar.

Doctors in particular are outraged.

The South African Medical Association (Sama) and the  SA Private Practitioners’ Forum claim that the new benchmark is “53% less than the 2007 HPCSA tariff, it is also 5% less than Sama’s own 2003 tariff”.

In their calculations the cost of living has gone up  by 55% since then, while medical scheme contributions have effectively risen by 105%.

“This means that while consumers are paying 105% more for their medical scheme contributions, the doctors effectively have to supposedly settle for 5% less than what they were earning in 2003!”

Although there are exceptions, consumers can rest assured they will be screwed by both their doctors and their medical aid schemes.

Doctors will  continue to charge more than the guidelines and the medical aids will pay as little as possible.

  The HPCSA’s stipulation that medical practitioners who charge more than the guidelines must first get informed consent from patients is hardly reassuring. A patient is not often in a strong bargaining position.

Granted, SA must look after its doctors, far too many of whom are leaving. But consumers also need more protection and certainty.

The HPCSA admits   the guidelines have yet to be scientifically determined. Doctors say 1 000 treatments are not covered.

So why deliver an incomplete hodge-podge? It’s bad for the blood pressure.