Page 45 - Bulletin, Vol.80 No.2, September 2021

What do you think of our health insurance system?

International civil servants don't realise that they are privileged! They have
extraordinary social coverage for a more than reasonable premium. I am not afraid
to say that our pensioners have been spoiled children throughout their careers.
They didn't realise they were paying taxes or health insurance because it was
directly deducted from their salary. When their status changes, they have to take
the money out of their account and it seems to be the end of the world.

Some even decide to resign from their health insurance because they never get
sick forgetting that this decision is irrevocable. Others decide to move to a small
village in the sun, sometimes for tax reasons, without realising that the nearest
hospital is two hours away and that their doctor is located in Geneva. We note this
flagrant lack of anticipation.

Evolution of AAFI over the years

We have over 3300 members living in some 95 countries. In recent years, we
have seen a decline in membership. People are leaving the United Nations
sometimes with great disappointment. They are having fewer and fewer farewell
parties and that is really indicative of this malaise.

Working relations have become tougher, even though we should be a model. This
is also why we try to offer a quarterly bulletin, to keep a last link with the
pensioners.

During this crisis, many people have retired and, by necessity, without having
attended a pre-retirement seminar. Usually, one seminar is organised every year
by the UNOG training section and another by the ILO. We also recommend that
our members integrate into the social life of their place of residence in order to
benefit from social support and avoid isolation, especially around Geneva where
there are many activities.

Health crisis and the virtual world

The world has changed and we need to reinvent ourselves, we need new ideas.
Two thirds of our members have an email address but the missing third is
obviously a problem for us and even more with the current circumstances as they
have been truly abandoned during the lockdown. Our older pensioners need more
support as most of them have not mastered the internet.

Others don't want to because they are used to sending their paper files.

They have not understood that they no longer have a choice: taxes, administrative
formalities, everything is now connected. On the other hand, mobile phones have
become part of people's habits for family reasons. So we have to convince them to
use it for all their procedures. There is a lot of work to be done in this area,
perhaps with the help of UNSMIS. Everyone will benefit from this, as it will shorten
the time taken and increase the efficiency of reimbursements! It is also clear that
many people have developed isolation diseases and that among the third of our

44 AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 80 No. 2, 2021-09