PNG Health Insurance Limited (PHA Limited) was ordered by the court to make a payment of more than K5 million as remittance to PNG Nurses Association (PNGNA).
Additionally, they were mandated to repay a loan of almost K1 million that they had taken out from Credit Corporation using the PNGNA. The payment was to be made within seven days of the court order. The order was issued on 6th November, 2023.
Members of the PNGNA had been paying a service fee of K75 to PHA Limited for medical insurance cover. These were not remitted since June 2021. PHA Limited had failed to pay the default interest of five per cent per month.
On 17th March 2023, PNGNA made a decision to terminate the MoU it has with PHA Limited, for this poor service, and related issued.
However, PHA Limited instituted a national court proceeding to prosecute the PNGNA and its executives by obtaining a permanent restraining order to prevent the termination of the MoU.
The matter was brought before the Waigani National Court in June this year. PNGNA lawyer Herbert Wally made a submission to Presiding Judge and Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi and Namani lawyers representing PHA limited. The submission conceded that technically PHA Limited prosecuted its client’s cause of action in a wrong mode of proceedings, and for not showing any cause of action known to law.
Justice Kandakasi then made the orders on 6th November 2023, granting leave to dismiss the proceeding by reason of insufficient evidence by Namani lawyers.
Meanwhile, it was alleged also that the K75 service fee is substituted with an additional loan of more than K1million of which PHA Limited used PNGNA to get from Credit Crop Corporation for the Group Medical Insurance cover. This additional matter was also brought to the attention of the court, to which the court added a service fee and the loan repayment, which totaled up to K5 million.