Browsing by Author "Ramjee, S"
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- ItemOpen AccessThe construction of a price index for contributions to South African open medical schemes(Acturial Society of South Africa, 2013) Ramjee, S; Kooverjee, A; Dreyer, K AAn accurate measure of the change in the price of medical-scheme cover over time is necessary to inform health and social-security policy, and would provide consumers, employers and the regulator with a useful benchmark. A medical-scheme contribution index based on gross contributions to open medical schemes is constructed using the Paasche formula and a sample of schemes for the period 2006 to 2010. The results of the index indicate a 17,48% increase in real contributions over the period.
- ItemOpen AccessThe gender profile of the South African actuarial profession(Acturial Society of South Africa, 2013) Ramjee, S; Sibiya, F G; Dreyer, K AThe aim of this paper is to contextualise the gender status of the South African actuarial profession, both historically and relative to elsewhere in the world, as well as to establish the current level of representation of women in the profession. The authors have investigated the extent to which women are represented in different age groups and at various stages of the qualification process. They find that 85% of Fellow members of the Actuarial Society in 2010 are male but that women represent at least 30% of student members and younger cohorts. Given that people enter the profession primarily from undergraduate degrees in actuarial science, the authors have analysed the relative performance of female students enrolling for an Actuarial Science degree at the University of Cape Town. They find that the proportion of entrants who are female has increased over time but that persistency rates for female students are lower than for male students. They identify the need for further research to establish the underlying reasons for the gender differentials in entrants to university programmes and persistency, and conclude that universities, actuarial employers and the profession have a role to play in improving the perception of the profession and the experiences of women in the classroom and workplace.
- ItemOpen AccessUnaffordable medical scheme contributions: A barrier to access to private health cover in South Africa(2007) Fish, T; Ramjee, SThe purpose of the Medical Schemes Act, No. 131 of 1998 was inter alia to ‘promote non-discriminatory access to privately funded health care’. A number of reforms were proposed as steps on a path to Social Health Insurance (SHI) with the ultimate goal of the reforms being to increase the number of people contributing to a private financing mechanism, thereby reducing the burden on the public sector. The increase in health care costs over time has been the focal point of industry discussions regarding affordability. In recent years the industry has responded positively to the affordability challenge by developing new products aimed at the lower end of the market. With medical inflation as a significant challenge, this paper argues that in 2003 the cost of entry-level medical scheme options was largely unaffordable and that this state of affairs has not improved over time. The proportion of the population covered by medical schemes declined marginally during the time period under review (2003 – 2006), despite the regulatory environment. The analysis, done from the perspective of a prospective medical scheme member, aims to identify the proportion of medical scheme options affordable to each of four ‘benchmark’ families.