It’s that time of year again: as we approach October, South Africa’s major medical schemes will start rolling out their annual price hikes and benefit changes for the upcoming year. With healthcare inflation consistently outpacing the general CPI...
Most South African medical schemes now offer some sort of remote health consultation service. Making use of these virtual consultations is a great way to save on medical costs. My scheme (Momentum Health) offers a service called Hello Doctor free...
Don’t expect a blanket premium relief, but if you are struggling, contact your medical scheme for options. If you are struggling to meet your medical scheme contribution this month, don’t hold out for a blanket offering of a premium waiver. Medical...
By Riaan Oosthuizen, Alexander Forbes Health consultant As financial intermediaries we are often asked why medical scheme cover is so expensive compared to health insurance. Three main factors influence this. Underwriting and open enrolment The...
With above-inflation price increases announced by medical schemes, many members may be looking for more cost-effective options when it comes to healthcare. But before making a change, ensure you understand what you are ‒and are not ‒ covered for....
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may qualify for a higher income in retirement. When it comes to taking out life insurance, underwriting for the cover usually means that a prior illness results in a higher premium. However, when...
Don’t rush off to the emergency room too quickly – it may cost you more than you realise. A recent twitter rant by a Discovery Health Medical Scheme member highlighted an often-misunderstood fact about hospital plans: they don’t cover visits to the...
GTC launches inaugural Gap Cover Survey to rank and categorise all providers in South Africa Sanlam and Absa have emerged as the top-ranked medical top-up ‒ often referred to as ‘gap cover’‒ providers in South Africa, according to the first ever...
Annual medical aid premium increases for 2018 are once again measuring in excess of inflation, and this often comes with a decrease in benefit levels. This means consumers will have to make increasingly tough choices if they don't want to be caught...
Discovery and Momentum medical schemes top the tables in the 2017 GTC Medical Aid Survey across most plans. The extensive survey, conducted by financial advisory firm GTC, takes various criteria into account when ranking the scheme options. Jill...
This year our family is working our rewards programmes to cover the costs of medication. After realising we would pay R1 500 less per month on our premiums if we selected a medical scheme option that did not cover my son’s R900 per month chronic medication, it was a...
If you are considering moving medical schemes or looking to take out a medical scheme plan for the first time, you need to consider the viability of the scheme as a whole and then select the plan that best suits your needs. The health of the scheme Jill Larkan, head...
Medical practitioners need to be incentivised to keep us well, rather than getting paid just when we are sick. Three weeks ago my son cut his finger badly and it needed to be professionally bandaged and assessed for stitches. I popped down to my doctor’s rooms and...
As long as medical claims outstrip premiums collected, our premiums will keep rising. This year most medical scheme members will see premium increases well above inflation with the industry average hovering around 11%. Depending on your scheme option, some members...
In order to provide lower-cost medical cover, most medical schemes offer plan options where co-payments apply for certain procedures. These procedures tend to be elective surgeries such as a colonoscopy or joint replacement and are clearly defined in the medical...
A lack of young, healthy members is driving up medical scheme costs. The increases announced by medical schemes for 2016 ranged from around 8.6% to as high as 15%. If your medical scheme announced increases well above the market, it could suggest that the scheme, or...
Themba writes: Our employer is an NGO that doesn't subsidise the medical cover of employees yet it is compulsory to have medical cover according to the employment contract, unless the employee is dependent of someone else's cover like the spouse. The employer deals...
A person under the age of 35 is more likely to claim for income protection or disability than death. While life cover may not be a priority, protecting your future income should be. When Greg, aged 35, was rushed to hospital after a virus attacked his heart, it gave...
A reader wonders why her medical scheme deducted her medical expenses from her Road Accident Fund settlement. Paseka writes: I was in a car accident and was awarded around R2 million from the Road Accident Fund (RAF). I was admitted to a private hospital and the total...
We set ourselves a challenge to try and find medical cover for one of our readers. Our findings show that medical cover is expensive for many middle-income earners and that a comprehensive hospital plan is possibly the best option. Elizabeth has three children aged 3,...