Medical aid schemes for South African’s interested in protecting a family’s health are available always and you should look at the wide range available in the SA market. Health coverage varies in affordability and the provision of benefits and many medical aid providers will have consultants that can help you to find the best plan for you. Remember that it may seem like an expense now, but living with out medical aid can be more expensive.
There is so much choice when it comes to medical aid schemes. Whether you are looking for total coverage or a simple hospital plan it can appear that the choice is limitless. If you consider companies like Discovery, Oxygen, Bonitas, Momentum and Spectramed each of them has a tremendous number of options available. The first step to finding the one for you is considering which type of cover you would like, and how much you can afford to pay for health cover every month.
The Discovery Medical Scheme is the largest in South Africa and is followed closely by Bonitas. Discovery is popular for its Vitality program which offers benefits to clients who try to maintain a fit and active lifestyle and eat well. Plans like Old Mutual’s Oxygen medical scheme focus on small businesses and offer them company based rates on health care, but they also provide personalised cover for individuals and families. Momentum and Spectramed are also smaller companies that have firmly placed themselves as some of the important providers of medical aid in South Africa. They have both been commended on their efficiency and customer-orientated care. Everyone wants the security of knowing that when they fall ill, their bank balance doesn’t have to fall ill too. It’s for this reason that you should look at the wide variety of medical aid schemes on the market.
Choosing the right Medical Plan for a Family
Choosing the right medical plan for a family may cause more stress than is necessary. The reason being the majority of medical plans are extremely expensive as well as extremely confusing. In South Africa alone, there are a number of medical scheme providers all offering differing options to their potential clients. This means that the process of finding out which scheme is best for you and your family can be exceedingly difficult. There are some factors that you should consider before signing any contract with a medical service provider. These include the level of in-hospital cover required, if you need chronic illness cover, and what cover you need for day to day expenses.
Another way to determine if you are choosing the right medical plan for a family is to look at the size of the medical schemes risk pool as well as their average age. If you are looking to determine if a scheme is healthy then you should be considering their annual contribution increases, its reserve levels as well its claims paying ability. Getting the cheapest plan is not necessarily the best thing as there are hidden costs that you may be not be covered for such as specialist consultations that often cost the most out of everything.
One way to find the best policy for you and your family is to deal with a medical insurance broker. This broker will be able to provide you with all the information about the different schemes that are on offer by the different organisations and help you find the most comprehensive package that wont break the bank. This will help you take away some of the stress involved in looking for a medical plan and will help you in the process of choosing the right medical plan for a family.