Medical
What is medical aid?
Medical aid is a
product where a member buys “benefits” from a specific medical scheme. The
medical aid then pays for medical costs of the member, but coverage and payment
will be as stated by the specific medical scheme.To find the
cheapest medical aid available in South Africa, do your homework. With 34 open
medical schemes available to you make sure you take out the best medical aid
for your specific needs.
Affordability is a major issue for members. Medical scheme membership is primarily income related and makes up a big portion of members’ monthly expenses. Lack of affordability and trying to find the cheapest medical aid with reasonable cover prevents more members joining.
South Africa’s private healthcare is expensive and it is really only high-income groups that have access to reasonable cover. Currently only some 7.9 million lives are covered by private medical aids and more then 40 million people rely on public healthcare.
Choosing the cheapest medical aid for your needs from one of the 34 open medical aid schemes will give you peace of mind. At least you are covered for certain emergencies, hospitalisation, day-to-day expenses and so much more.
Accidents can and do happen and your health is unpredictable. Get accurate information from the experts; a good medical aid is necessary. Get a Medical Aid Quote.
Different medical aid cover options are available
There are various medical aid plans available to members. They can choose between hospital plans, hospital plans with a savings component (New Generation Options), traditional plans, comprehensive plans and network plans. These, of course, range in price. If you want the most affordable medical aid for you, understand what the product offers you, before you make an informed decision.
Basic hospital plans are recommended for an active and healthy family.
If you take responsibility for your own health and know that prevention is better than cure, it will work for you. However, the disadvantages include co-payments on certain procedures such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy, laparoscopy, extraction of wisdom teeth, cataract removal, etc. Some procedures might also not be covered at all.
Comprehensive plans.
Comprehensive plans have a savings component and cover almost all medical expenses and include benefits for in-hospital, day-to-day expenses and chronic medication. These are subject to the rules of the scheme and are recommended for individuals or a family who want comprehensive cover for emergencies, hospitalisation, day-to-day expenses and who makes use of quite a lot of chronic medication.
Traditional plans cover almost all medical expenses and include benefits for in-hospital, day-to-day expenses and chronic medication, subject to the rules of the scheme. These plans are recommended for individuals or a family who want comprehensive cover, but do not want a savings benefit on their option. These options still cover emergencies, hospitalisation, day-to-day expenses and chronic medication.
Hospital plans with savings
Hospital plans with savings cover accounts (New Generation Options) are submitted by service providers – only for in-hospital expenses. You are responsible for your own day-to-day medical expenses. These plans cost less than comprehensive medical aid plans. Such plans are recommended for individuals and families who require comprehensive cover if they need to go to hospital in case of an emergency or for a planned procedure. It is also recommended should you want to enjoy the flexibility of a savings account for day-to-day expenses.
Getting advice on the different medical aid plans is easy. Contact an accredited healthcare broker, but first ask for a medical aid quote online. Use our online quote request form and get accurate medical aid advice from most of the open medical schemes in South Africa. Medquote will find you the cheapest medical aid available for your specific needs.
Medquote offers a wide range of services:
Medical aid quotes
Comparisons on the majority of open medical aid schemes
Independent and accurate medical aid advice
Place you on a medical aid scheme of your choice, whilst they handle all the paperwork
After-sale support service via a dedicated call centre team
Source: Optivest Health Services