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The 2025 medical aid price increases have been announced and they are shocking!
Many members are desperate to find alternative ways to fund their healthcare as we have no option but to join a medical aid in South Africa.

Here are the best ideas to Save Big on your Medical Aid!

Private hospital benefits are non-negotiable.
You cannot consider using state hospitals – only private facilities.

An extended period in hospital can severely damage your finances!
Costs can run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of rands,so you must make sure that you have sufficient risk cover in place (i.e., benefits for hospital and related costs).

Day-to-day savings are a “nice to have,” but you can fund for these costs in other ways.
Comprehensive cover or medical savings do not give you a better bed or treatment in a private hospital.

Remember, a medical aid is there to provide you with the peace of mind that you can access to funds for private healthcare, i.e., the “the big accident, illness or disease” costs.

It may be wise to take care of your day-to-day expenses yourself.

The Finest Private Hospitalisation Plan We Can Afford

If you are healthy and unlikely to have high ongoing day-to-day costs, a hospital plan might be enough to cover your needs.
(However, if you are older, or have ongoing medical problems, you should consider a more comprehensive medical aid to avoid being bankrupted by out-of-hospital expenses.)

Hospital-only benefit medical aid plans cover major medical events, like surgery and hospitalisation, while excluding day-to-day medical expenses like GP visits, dentist, and prescriptions.
Although you will need to self-fund out-of-hospital expenses, the lower premium can make a significant difference in reducing your overall healthcare cost.

The ONLY difference is that members on the hospital plan do not have a savings account for out-of-hospital expenses.

Choosing the correct hospital plan is not easy.
There are currently 22 open medical aid schemes in South Africa, each with hospital plan options.
Each hospital plan then offers its own unique basket of benefits at different monthly contributions.

You need:

• Unlimited cover for planned and emergency hospital admissions and related accounts like ICU, high care, theatre and ward fees, medication, X-rays, MRI and CTR scans, pathology, diagnostic scopes, etc.
• Cover for healthcare professionals like doctors, anaesthetists, and specialists in hospital
• Day clinic benefits
• Doctor/specialist room procedures like gastroscopy, colonoscopy, removal of impacted wisdom teeth and excision of superficial benign tumours, etc.
• Mental Health benefits
• Emergency services and transportation
• Maternity benefits
• Cancer benefits
• Cover for chronic illness treatment and medicine
• Screening benefits covering tests that are important for detecting early warning signs of serious illness.
• Care programmes

The Key is How You Can Reduce the Premiums!

Private providers often charge up to 5 times medical aid rates.
To help members close this claim gap, medical aids offer plans that pay at 2 or 3 times the scheme rate.
But they are more expensive.

It may be a better option to join a lower-cost, 100% medical aid rate plan and take out a TOP up to cover possible in-hospital shortfalls.
The total premium is often lower than the highest hospital plan.

Use Network hospitals – medical aids negotiate rates with listed private hospitals and then pass those “savings” on to you through lower premiums. They may also guarantee full payment on these network plans.

If the plan has private hospitals you can use, then join it. The same with specialists and doctors – use a network provider and get full cover.

The Funding of Day-to-Day Costs

We have never had a member going bankrupt because of high hospital costs.
The savings fund within a medical aid is your money and is a direct result of an added amount on your premium.
If you stop or reduce that savings amount, you reduce your premium.

Most schemes offer a savings fund, which means you do not pay for day-to-day medical expenses out of your pocket.
However, a savings fund must be paid for and the medical aid adds a compulsory monthly repayment of a portion of that fund to your premium, whether you spend from it or not.

Having a medical scheme managing your savings account (your own money and not the medical aid) is probably one of the most expensive forms of saving.1. Self-Fund Expenses

Open an easily accessible savings account with your bank and save a regular amount into it.

Save into a unit trust if you have a low need for day-to-day treatments.

Increase payments into your access bond and use that as an emergency fund. It is likely you will pay your bond off early and save a huge amount of interest!

These methods double as your emergency fund, which is a primary personal financial necessity.
You will earn interest on your money and it is yours to use whenever you need it, not like a fund in a medical aid which can only be used for medical costs.

There is a plan that offers you a savings fund, but you only repay what you have spent – when you spend it.
When you do not spend from it, your premium remains lower, but you have the safety net of access to savings should you need them.2. There are plans that pay for certain out-of-hospital treatments with a small co-payment.
These premiums are lower than a comprehensive medical aid.

If you seldom require day to day treatment, these can be attractive plans to consider.

You can also consider a plan that pays for unlimited hospital - including generous in and out-of-hospital basic dental benefits.
The only hospital plan to offer this!3. Entry-Level Plans with Premiums Based on Your Level of Income

These affordable plans offer unlimited basic hospital cover in network of private hospitals and full cover for network specialists.
However, using specific network hospitals and healthcare providers can limit your choices and flexibility in getting care, and strict rules and referral processes complicate accessing care.

How Do You Decide if You Should Join a Comprehensive Medical Aid Plan or a Hospital Plan?

Some hospital plans, or full cover medical aid benefit plans, do provide additional cover that may include specific and/or extended cover for chronic conditions, access to ethical drugs, unlimited cancer cover, etc.

Consider your needs, budget, and expected future healthcare costs.
Join a medical aid if you have a high need for healthcare services or can afford a comprehensive medical aid premium.

A hospital-only plan does cost less, but only offers in-hospital benefits.

If you have a strict budget and can only look at a hospital plan medical aid or nothing at all, joining a hospital plan is the most financially responsible decision.

Investigating Alternatives to Your Current Medical Aid

Not all hospital plans are created equal; some provide more generous benefits while others have more stringent rules, limitations, and exclusions. Looking to switch medical aid schemes can lead to waiting periods.

I urge you to contact us for professioanl advice, at no charge.

We can offer in-depth analysis of your scheme and other plan options you may have.
To do this, we need to be appointed to your membership.
It will cost you nothing extra, but it allows us to give you comprehensive medical aid plan alternatives to consider.

One thing you can be sure of is that the cost of healthcare is not going to reduce!

We promote:

• Discovery Health – 23 plan options
• Momentum Health – 9 plan options
• Fedhealth – 7 plan options
• Bonitas – 15 plan options
• Medshield – 10 plans
• Compcare – 7 plan options
• Genesis – 3 plan options

Complete this appointment and return to me.

In a couple of days, I will confirm acceptance and we can quickly get onto your concerns.

Medical aid is a complicated product and we do need to have one, but we must fully understand what the benefits and limits are.

This is where we can help!
We know these products... all the fine print.
And we can show you what cover you have!

I am a fully licenced and accredited broker with over 30-years of experience.

Do you experience unnecessary stress at year-end when the time comes to select your plan for the following year? This is when you need help!

It is NOT always ideal to change medical plan. as you can get waiting periods joining a new scheme.
Rather investigate moving to a different plan, within your current scheme