Am I being ripped off by Discovery?

[mike156]

So I received an email detailing the changes to my health plan for 2013 by Discovery and my contribution will be going up to R3242 for two young adults on classic saver.

I'm getting the feeling that i'm getting shafted and should vote with my wallet.

Can anybody recommend a reliable medical aid scheme with similar benefits to the classic saver or even a plain hospital plan with no savings

 

[Sinbad]

Discovery's changes for next year look lank confusing. I'm hoping my company will organise someone to come out and discuss our options with us. No more MSB, just some wallet thing... new plans...

I'm currently paying 7k a month...

 

[chrisc]

All medical aids regularly review their premiums. Don't forget they are in the business to make money, not act as philanthropists and cannot have too many customers running at a loss. All you can do to reduce your premiums is to reduce the cover. Do you need medical savings? If not, delete this section and go for a good hospital plan with gap cover. I use Liberty Life.

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

Discovery's changes for next year look lank confusing. I'm hoping my company will organise someone to come out and discuss our options with us. No more MSB, just some wallet thing... new plans...

I'm currently paying 7k a month...

My word, how many dependants do you have on your plan?

 

[Sinbad]

My word, how many dependants do you have on your plan?

Two adults. Executive plan.

 

[ISP cash cow]

So I received an email detailing the changes to my health plan for 2013 by Discovery and my contribution will be going up to R3242 for two young adults on classic saver.

I'm getting the feeling that i'm getting shafted and should vote with my wallet.

Can anybody recommend a reliable medical aid scheme with similar benefits to the classic saver or even a plain hospital plan with no savings

Why don't you get an insurance broker in and let them discuss the plans available from different companies and they may be able to help you with finding the best plan that suits you.

I am with Discovery and looked at other plans earlier this year because I also thought that we were getting shafted side ways but when I did a comparison compared to other medical aids with what I need for the family, Discovery was not that bad.

It all depends on what you want the medical aid for and what you want it to cover.

 

[Haldex]

Mines going up to R2000, I dont even use the damn thing!
Have to find a way to make the best of it for this year.

Any idea what I could do to max out my medical aid for 2012?

 

[zippy]

I am glad I left this crap behind. Thank god for the NHS. Lol.

 

[guest2013-1]

I didn't read anything. My answer will always be "yes" to the subject line

 

[Sinbad]

I didn't read anything. My answer will always be "yes" to the subject line

Discovery paid out nearly 60% more than I paid them last year...

 

[Cool E]

So I received an email detailing the changes to my health plan for 2013 by Discovery and my contribution will be going up to R3242 for two young adults on classic saver.

I'm getting the feeling that i'm getting shafted and should vote with my wallet.

Can anybody recommend a reliable medical aid scheme with similar benefits to the classic saver or even a plain hospital plan with no savings

Try KeyCare Plus. Atleast you will choose two Doctors. And hospital cover included. 1 out of network visit allowed.

 

[the eskimo]

Don't forget they are in the business to make money

Not True. The schemes are not in the business of making money, the medical scheme administrators are.

 

[ClintZA]

All medical aids regularly review their premiums. Don't forget they are in the business to make money, not act as philanthropists and cannot have too many customers running at a loss. All you can do to reduce your premiums is to reduce the cover. Do you need medical savings? If not, delete this section and go for a good hospital plan with gap cover. I use Liberty Life.

They all do, but some more than others. These are the increases for 2013 and on average Discovery is unfortunately one of the highest:

You may find this site useful in comparing the different medical aid offerings:

http://www.msit.org.za/newsite/index.php?mod=12&action=compareschemes

If you get a little baffled by all the information and terminology feel free to pop me a message.

 

[ClintZA]

Try KeyCare Plus. Atleast you will choose two Doctors. And hospital cover included. 1 out of network visit allowed.

Be very wary of the limitations of the KeyCare plans. There are a number of exclusions (certain scopes for instance are not included) and the GPs, specialists and hospitals on the KeyCare network are very limited. Also if he is earning more than R8300 per month he will pay about the same contribution on KeyCare as on Classic Saver (ignoring the savings component).

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

Two adults. Executive plan.

Any specific reason why you are on an Executive Plan and not just the Classic Comprehensive? As far as I remember the only difference was that the Executive Plan had a higher contribution towards private wards and some benefits (such as dental) were higher.

But medical is getting now super expensive. GP's charge up to R400 for a 10 minute consultation. I think the middle-class will struggle - subsidising national health care and national pension in the next few years - that's going to be tough (considering inflation, rise in utility costs etc).

 

[Alton Turner Blackwood]

The answer is yes.

/goes and reads the OP's post

 

[Sinbad]

Any specific reason why you are on an Executive Plan and not just the Classic Comprehensive? As far as I remember the only difference was that the Executive Plan had a higher contribution towards private wards and some benefits (such as dental) were higher.

But medical is getting now super expensive. GP's charge up to R400 for a 10 minute consultation. I think the middle-class will struggle - subsidising national health care and national pension in the next few years - that's going to be tough (considering inflation, rise in utility costs etc).

Needed it for the dental - my SO had 4 implants recently. That **** is EXPENSIVE.

Private wards are nice - but then again, they aren't that expensive from what I saw last year - couple hundred bucks a night - so am removing that factor from the equation.

They're also pretty good with some experimental protocols (eg, Aclasta)... not sure if lower plans will cover that?

I'm actually having serious thoughts of the new Classic Comprehesive no-savings plan...

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

I'm actually having serious thoughts of the new Classic Comprehesive no-savings plan...

What do you mean by that? When looking at my 2013 plan (Classic Comprehensive) I still have a MSA contribution? Perhaps confusion with the Classic Savers?

 

[Sinbad]

What do you mean by that? When looking at my 2013 plan (Classic Comprehensive) I still have a MSA contribution? Perhaps confusion with the Classic Savers?

Nope.

There's a new plan:

Main member Adult Child* Main member Adult Child* Main member Adult Child*
Classic Comprehensive R3 086 R2 918 R616 R9 252 R8 748 R1 848
Classic Delta Comprehensive R2 780 R2 629 R553 R8 340 R7 884 R1 656
Classic Zero MSA R2 315 R2 189 R462 No Medical Savings Account
Essential Comprehensive R2 594 R2 451 R520 R4 668 R4 404 R936
Essential Delta Comprehensive R2 335 R2 207 R467 R4 200 R3 972 R840


Vs R3764pp for Executive.

That's an extra R3k a month in my pocket.

 

[Devill]

So I received an email detailing the changes to my health plan for 2013 by Discovery and my contribution will be going up to R3242 for two young adults on classic saver.

I'm getting the feeling that i'm getting shafted and should vote with my wallet.

Can anybody recommend a reliable medical aid scheme with similar benefits to the classic saver or even a plain hospital plan with no savings

Myself and my GF are on Delta Saver Plus thing, with me as main member. Together we will be paying R2016 for the both of us next year.