Health Insurance is not the same as medical aid in South Africa. True. But, man, it sure is a strong contender to substitute medical aid membership. Momentum and Discovery will tell you otherwise, but when you are operating a shoestring budget, and want access to private primary healthcare facilities at the lowest cost possible, it is worth considering.
Not just for yourself for for your staff too!
So, what is the difference between health insurance and medical aid?
Firstly, it’s far cheaper – from R300 pm for the main member
You can literally cover the primary healthcare needs of a family of 4 at the same cost of the cheapest medical aid offering that covers a single main member.
The focus on health insurance is to cover your primary healthcare needs. Primary healthcare needs are best described in the picture below.
Yep, all this for as little as R300 (excluding VAT) per month. If you provide this for your staff, the VAT is claimable and the contribution tax deductible (for most of the providers… drop us a message for exact details).
Some providers offer unlimited GP visits and unlimited medication cover. Contact us to find out more.
Secondly, there are no exclusions and waiting periods
That’s correct, the exclusions, waiting periods and late joiner penalties associated with medical aid schemes do not apply to health insurance policies for the majority of the providers. That’s because medical aids are subject to the Medical Schemes Act. Health insurance is promulgated by the Long-term and Short-term Insurance Acts.
Who are the providers of health insurance in South Africa?
There are a number of them, such as:
- Flexicare (affordable powered by Discovery)
- Health4me ( affordable powered by Momentum)
- Kaelo (affordable)
- Stratum (expensive)
- Unity Health (expensive)
- MyHealth (expensive)
- EssentialMed (expensive)
- Affinity ( very expensive)
At Virtual Adviser we are experts in providing the best health insurance of medical aid solution that suits you, your family or your company. Chat with an adviser now over WhatsApp.
What else can you get besides primary healthcare cover?
What happens if you meet an accident? Experienced food poisoning, nearly downed? You can add cover for trauma incidents onto your health insurance for as little as R70. See the graphic below, in the event of trauma you will be taken to a private hospital.
During the first few hours after a trauma event, you will get the best care that you need when you need it!!
For under 400 bucks you have your (or your staff’s) primary healthcare and trauma benefits covered!
Nothing short of amazing!
You can also add on funeral cover (R5000), accidental death cover and if you take the benefit via your employer, then you will enjoy employee benefits too.
For example, Discovery offers the following employee benefits:
However, Discovery are not the front end leaders of health insurance. It’s best to arrange a meeting with an expert at Virtual Adviser and discuss your needs so that the best solution is provided.
Did you know? If your employer is already contracted with Discovery medical aid, you can not take on Discovery’s Flexicare health insurance? Those are the nasty details that our experts will discuss with you.
What does heath insurance not cover?
Health insurance will not cover you in-hospital for any planned and unplanned PMBs. This is very important to understand and is a distinguishing factor. Chat with us for full details.