Is it worth it having medical aid in SA?

Is it worth it having medical aid in SA?

  • Yes

    Votes: 94 82.5%

  • No

    Votes: 20 17.5%
  • Total voters
    114
We had one child's tonsils removed last week and having another child's removed next week. I'm pretty sure I'm not on Discovery's Christmas list.
 
Sinbad said:
You realise that the msa contribution is the same as what goes into the msa, doesn't cost you anything. And makes your years savings available up front should you need it...
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My money that I can as easily put into an account that earns me interest and use to pay for what I deem necessary instead of whatever the medical aid decides they will cover (with my savings). Or they decide they pay less than the doctor charges, so I have to pay more out of my own pocket when there is plenty of money already accumulated in my medical savings.

JCM said:
Do you guys perhaps know what interest rate you get with the MSA you don't use?
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Zero.
 
mister said:
21 years here
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Be careful. One day you may need a medical aid and if your are 35 plus you will be hit with late joiner penalties. In addition you will have a 3 month general waiting period going up to 12 months for pre-existing conditions.
 
diapason said:
Be careful. One day you may need a medical aid and if your are 35 plus you will be hit with late joiner penalties. In addition you will have a 3 month general waiting period going up to 12 months for pre-existing conditions.
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I have a hospital plan. I just haven't been to the doctor in 21 years.
 
Hospital Plan option on a good Medical Aid.

If you do the math the day-to-day option simply does not add up.
Generally (might have deviations on specialist plans)...
  1. There is no risk portion to the day-to-day benefit. You're paying the whole amount out of your pocket. So it's effectively a savings account where you get to use the agreed amount upfront - basically a savings advance. The scheme doesn't add anything more.
  2. You WILL NOT be able to use all your day-to-day savings because of the per member and per condition thresholds.
  3. You could lose a portion of the unused savings. Your full savings amount won't roll over.
  4. On plans that have an Above Threshold Benefit - a pseudo risk portion - it's questionable whether you'll actually hit the activation limits, and there are further thresholds on this anyway.
  5. You'd generally find that the high expense areas where you'd like to spend your day-to-day are severely limited by thresholds - optometry, dentistry

Anyway, I'm not a Financial Advisor so typical disclaimer here - don't take my word for it. Do your homework :). The above will however keep your Advisor honest. :D
And by the way - there are sometimes good reasons why people use the savings portion. If you have a cash flow constraint it's basically an advance. But I can assure you it's one that you won't be able to fully use.

Regarding state hospitals - FORGET IT. I've had reason to use them in the past. Went to the better ones. It's not good folks. Walk into any home affairs office - the level of apathy that exists there is mirrored at the hospitals.

And to be balanced I should say that care at private hospitals isn't that awesome either. It reflects the apathy that exists in our population. Service roles aren't a calling anymore, it's simply a paycheck and people seemingly can't be bothered. *shrug*
 
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