Top 5 cheapest medical aid quotes in South Africa in 2024
Healthcare schemes in South Africa offer medical aid plans that enable many to afford this basic need. You can find a medical cover that suits your income level. If you have not subscribed to health insurance, discover the five cheapest medical aid quotes in South Africa below.
Source: UGC
You need a healthcare scheme in South Africa regardless of your age, residential area, employment status, or if you are retired, marital status, and other factors. A medicare aid cover helps you get treatment from a standard health facility without incurring debts.
5 cheapest medical aid quotes in South Africa
Since health services like physiotherapy, chemotherapy, and dialysis are costly, take a medical aid cover to relieve yourself from the burden of raising lump sums for these services. Members of a healthcare scheme contribute small amounts of money monthly to their covers. The lumpsum is disbursed to members who need to pay medical bills.
Medical aid in South Africa costs as little as R500 per member in a month. Although salary-based schemes are directly proportional to the member's income, you can get cheap hospital quotes for high-income earners. Below is a list of some of the cheapest medical aid covers in 2024.
1. Fedhealth - Maxima Exec
Fedhealth's Maxima Exec is a comprehensive family medical plan. It is the best for families that have senior adults and babies. This health insurance cover starts from R 8 305 per month. Fedhealth's Maxima Exec cover has these benefits:
| In-hospital cover benefits | |
| 1. | No overall annual limit for hospitalization. |
| 2. | Unlimited maternity cover. |
| 3. | Network GPs and specialists get unlimited cover. |
| 4. | Non-network GPs are covered up to 100% of the Fedhealth Rate. |
| 5. | Non-network specialists are covered up to 200% of the Fedhealth Rate. |
| 6. | Other healthcare professionals are covered up to 100% of the Fedhealth Rate. |
| 7. | Generous oncology benefit of R624 000. |
| Chronic benefits | |
| 8. | Get covered for 56 chronic diseases subject to the comprehensive formulary. |
| 9. | You have R7 890 per beneficiary per year available - capped at R14 500 per family yearly. |
| 10 | Providers are Medirite, Clicks, Dis-Chem (their courier pharmacies), and Pharmacy Direct. |
| Screening benefits | |
| 11. | Women aged 21-65 get a cover for one Pap smear (cervical cancer screening) every three years. |
| 12. | Men aged 45 to 69 get a cover for one Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) per year. |
| 13. | One wellness annual screening for BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose tests. |
| 14. | One preventative screening by a contracted wellness network provider per year. It includes waist-to-hip ratio, body fat %, flexibility, posture, and fitness. |
| 15. | HPV vaccine for all female beneficiaries aged 9 to 14 years. This benefit is 2 doses per lifetime. |
| Day-to-day benefits | |
| 16. | Unlimited Fedhealth Network GP visits once your medical savings are depleted. |
| 17. | The scheme pays unlimited specialized radiology if you get pre-authorization from them. The first R2 630 for non-PMB MRI/CT scans will be for your account. |
| 18. | A cover for follow-up treatment like physio, x-rays, and pathology for 30 days once you get discharged. |
| Threshold benefits | |
| 19. | Once your claims accumulate to these threshold levels, there are certain benefits:Principal member- R16 400, Adult - R12 600, Child (a maximum of 3 kids) - R4 200. |
| Additional benefits | |
| 20 | You can upgrade to a higher option within 30 days of a life-changing event, like a dread disease or pregnancy diagnosis. |
| 21. | You can sign up for a comprehensive managed care programfor a specific healthcare need. |
| 22. | Fedhealth members get mental health support on the Panda app, which is available through the Fedhealth Member App. |
2. Resolution Health - Foundation Medical Aid Plan
Source: UGC
Resolution Health's Foundation Medical Aid Plan is among the best medical aid in South Africa. Most low to medium earners consider it a number one healthcare plan for daily and in-health center use.
The scheme has a child and student-dependent options (a child-dependent is anyone below 21 years, while a student-dependent is anyone aged between 21 and 25 schooling at an accredited institution). A dependent must provide proof of their student status annually, and this excludes spouses and partners. Below are the benefits of getting Resolution Health's Foundation Medical Aid Plan:
| In-hospital benefits | |
| Overall annual limit | Unlimited subject to sub-limits & 100% (Resolution Rate). |
| Provider | Network hospitals (R4 110 co-payment for using non-network hospitals). |
| GP's & Specialists | Professional fees are paid at 100% scheme tariff covered at DSP. |
| Unlimited GPs and specialists. | |
| Oncology: R80 904 per family per annum at ICON Network. | |
| Unlimited Radiology and Pathology. | |
| Dialysis: PMBs and subject to Network. | |
| Organ transplants: Limited to PMBs at State hospitals. | |
| Internal prostheses: R37 685 Procedure based (Sub-limits apply/ PMB cover). | |
| Mental health: PMBs at designated providers. | |
| Chronic | 25 PMBs + HIV, BPH & HRT |
| Out-of-hospital benefits | |
| Saving/day-to-day/OHEB | Unlimited network GP visits, subject to authorization after 4th visit. |
| Specialist limits are subject to PMBs and referral by GP & 2 non-network GP visits per year. | |
| Pooled day-to-day benefit | No benefit/not applicable |
| Threshold/safety net | No benefit/not applicable |
| Self-payment gap before the threshold | No benefit/not applicable |
| Above threshold limits | No benefit/not applicable |
| Maternity Care | Subject to scheme protocols and PMBs: 2x2D scans, 9 visits to a GP or midwife. |
| Contributions | |
| Income based: R0 - R4 840 | Member: R961, Adult: R961, Child: R289 |
| Income based: R4 841 - R7 470 | Member: R1 151, Adult: R1 151, Child: R397 |
| Income Based: R7 471 - R10 210 | Member: R1 492, Adult: R1 492, Child: R476 |
| Income Based: R10 211+ | Member: R2 255, Adult: R2 255, Child: R774 |
3. Momentum Health – Ingwe Family Option
Source: UGC
Momentum Health's Ingwe family option has a fixed annual limit per family. The scheme you choose can be used at any private hospital in the Ingwe network. For the lowest monthly contribution, you can use state hospitals. Momentum health group has 284,400 beneficiaries (5.8% of the open sector and 3.2% of the total SA's market population). The scheme offers:
- There is no overall annual limit for hospitalization.
- Members can choose to use state hospitals (for an even lower monthly contribution), any hospital, or private hospitals in the Ingwe Network for hospitalization coverage.
- Members must consult Ingwe Primary Care Network providers or Ingwe Active Primary Care Network providers for chronic treatment and day-to-day benefits like GP visits or prescribed medicine.
- Members can only use GPs on the Ingwe Active Primary Care Network for their chronic and day-to-day benefits if they choose any hospital.
- The plan covers a range of preventative care services which are available from members' chosen network providers.
- If members need more day-to-day cover, they can use HealthSaver+. It is a complementary product that saves members from medical expenses.
- +Members may use additional products like HealthSaver from Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited (Momentum) to enhance their medical aid. Momentum is not a medical scheme but a separate entity from Momentum Medical Scheme.
4. Momentum – Ingwe Student Plan
Source: UGC
Momentum Health's Ingwe Option for students starts from R482 per month. It is the cheapest hospital plan in South Africa and ideal for students with no income but need a Visa and health insurance. The Ingwe Student Plan has these benefits:
- Unlimited access to any private hospital in SA at a 100% Momentum Medical Scheme Rate.
- Unlimited doctor, dentistry, and eye care visits.
- Emergency benefits.
- Specialist and/or physiotherapy visits.
- Free chest x-ray for your visa requirements.
- Should you pass away in South Africa, a case manager at Thom Kight & Co will make all the arrangements with your family or loved ones to repatriate your mortal remains.
- Exclusive benefits are available to international students. For instance, you get free R5 million international travel emergency benefits for 90 days.
- You can extend or top up your medical cover to comply with your study visa and academic registration requirements.
- Access to a Multiply Digital Coach through the Multiply App helps you improve your overall well-being and make better lifestyle choices.
- Free additional benefits from Momentum.
5. Discovery Health – KeyCare Start
Source: UGC
Discovery Healthcare's Keycare Start medical aid provides vast clinical benefits and day-to-day cover at network providers and state-owned facilities only. The plan is cheap and income-based. Discovery Health is the largest open health scheme in the country. It has over 2.8 million beneficiaries ( 56% of consumers and 31% of the overall market). The KeyCare Start plan offers the following services:
- Unlimited hospital cover in our KeyCare hospital networks.
- Cover for comprehensive pre- and postnatal healthcare services for maternity and early childhood.
- Guaranteed full cover in the hospital for specialists on the KeyCare network and up to 100% of the Discovery Health Rate (DHR) for other healthcare professionals.
- Essential cover for chronic medicine on the KeyCare medicine list for all Chronic Disease List conditions when you use a designated service provider (DSP).
- Unlimited coverage for medically appropriate GP consultations, blood tests, X-rays, or medicine in our KeyCare networks on the KeyCare Plus and KeyCare Start plans.
- The cover depends on the plan you choose.
Other cheap medical aid quotes
Source: UGC
South Africa is among the few African countries with robust healthcare coverage. There are approximately 40 health insurance schemes offering affordable plans, disease management programs, and lifestyle rewards. Before subscribing, compare different medical aid schemes. Below are more options to choose from:
Medical aid for pregnant women offers a comprehensive hospital insurance with essential antenatal consultations and in-hospital childbirth. Medical aid for pensioners offers financial cover for those at the retirement stage. There is no age restriction, but a fee applies if you start your cover for the first time after age 35.
Medical aid for pregnant women offer comprehensive hospital plan cover with essential antenatal consultations and in-hospital childbirth. Medical aid for pensioners offers financial cover for those at the retirement stage. There is no age restriction, but a fee applies if you start your cover for the first time after age 35.
Bonitas has several cheap medical aid quotes. The edge plans are driven by technology, intelligence, and innovation. You get access to day-to-day benefits like layers of virtual care, unlimited GP consultations, dental and optical consultations, a private hospital network, and more.
The savings plans give you a set limited amount of money to use for out-of-hospital expenses like GP visits, optometry, dentistry, in-hospital cover, and additional maternity, wellness, and preventative care benefits.
Traditional plans give you an overall day-to-day limit with a sub-limit for GP and specialist consultations, X-rays and blood tests and other out-of-hospital medical expenses, acute and over-the-counter medicine, and additional benefits paid from risk.
The income-based entry-level plan offers basic day-to-day benefits and hospital coverage using a network of doctors, providers, and hospitals.
Hospital plans cover you in the hospital for emergency and planned procedures. You can access some additional benefits for wellness and preventative care.
Source: UGC
What is the best affordable medical aid in South Africa?
You can get these cheap medical aid covers:
- Fedhealth - Maxima Exec cover
- Resolution Health - Foundation Medical Aid Plan
- Momentum Health – Ingwe Family Option
- Momentum – Ingwe Student Plan
- Discovery Health – KeyCare Start cover
What is the cheapest medical aid in South Africa in 2024?
You can get medical aid under R300 or slightly above this at:
- Episodic
- Elixi
- GetSavvi
- Clientele
- Dis-Chem Health
- Health 4 Me
- Hippo
- Medshield
- Medicaid
- Bonitas
- Sanlam
Source: UGC
How much does medical aid cost per month in South Africa?
Medical insurance in South Africa costs as low as R200 per month and as high as over R20,000 per month.
Is South African healthcare expensive?
Although the government subsidizes public healthcare up to 40% of total costs, charges depend on one's income and the number of children. A visit to the doctor can cost around R55, and the waiting lists can be long, especially if you want to see a specialist.
The cheapest medical aid quotes in South Africa in 2024 will protect you from struggling financially when you need medical attention. Compare their benefits and choose the most suitable one.
DISCLAIMER: This article is not sponsored by any third party. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
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Source: Briefly News
