Medical Aid Comparison & Selection Wizard

TheOracle said:
Most medical aids in SA treat anyone 21+ as an adult dependant and charge the adult rate (which is usually the same or very close to the main member rate). Over 80 doesn't normally change the monthly contribution further, it's the same adult rate. The main differences for older folks come in with late-joiner penalties (if they've never been on medical aid) or higher chronic risk, but the base pricing is the adult dependant rate.
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The late-joiner penalty is a money-making racket.

My parents had a gap of 10 years with no medical aid as they lived in a country where the Gov hospitals were fine. , 35 YEARS AGO! They're still getting penalized lol. They've been on medical aid for the last 35 years straight, but when I get quotes they ask if they were ever without medical aid and i say yes, 35 years ago and they like aaah... we need to add a penalty how long were they without medical aid lol....
 
neoprema said:
The late-joiner penalty is a money-making racket.

My parents had a gap of 10 years with no medical aid as they lived in a country where the Gov hospitals were fine. , 35 YEARS AGO! They're still getting penalized lol. They've been on medical aid for the last 35 years straight, but when I get quotes they ask if they were ever without medical aid and i say yes, 35 years ago and they like aaah... we need to add a penalty how long were they without medical aid lol....
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Medical aids are funded by the concept that on average when you were younger you were paying more then receiving and then the reverses. If people only join when they were older monthly contributions will have to go up substantially for everyone. One of the pressures on schemes pushing up premiums is less young people joining.

In your parents case they did not pay premiums for 10 years and entry level package of essential core is 3356pm over 10 years of missed premiums, and 35 years of growth on top of that at a 5% above inflation growth that equates to just under 2.
8 million in today's money.

Sure you would have to subtract their claims from that but in average those are low for young people.

I think it fair to have a penalty for that instead of expecting that gap in premiums to be absorbed by other members.
 
I would have loved to change from Discovery to Genesis. The issue is when you join they only cover you at public hospitals for the first 3 months. This is a rule with most medical aids. Probably designed so that people don't change medical aids too often. Im not willing to take a 3 month chance of ending up in a public hospital.

So stuck with Discovery.
 
blah99 said:
I would have loved to change from Discovery to Genesis. The issue is when you join they only cover you at public hospitals for the first 3 months. This is a rule with most medical aids. Probably designed so that people don't change medical aids too often. Im not willing to take a 3 month chance of ending up in a public hospital.

So stuck with Discovery.
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That is absolutely not the case, I doubt that is even the case at Genesis unless they use public hospitals as part of the policy you want. They do have an exclusion period for existing conditions but that's a different thing altogether.
 
Kosmik said:
No plan really has all risks. All have some form of caps or limits, even the very expensive ones. Brokers are supposed to know that but most I've engaged with just point to the brochures and the main concerns ie: which hospital/dsps, how much % cover and MSA/ATB.

It is a hell of a minefield to navigate.
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True but a list of the plans that at least cover all the bases would be sufficient, some of the lower plans totally exclude stuff like advanced spinal surgeries, joint replacements and a few other stuff.
 
airborne said:
That is absolutely not the case, I doubt that is even the case at Genesis unless they use public hospitals as part of the policy you want. They do have an exclusion period for existing conditions but that's a different thing altogether.
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No, The documentation clearly stated that I would only have cover at public hospitals for 3 months (for PMB's and emergencies ONLY). Any other cover is excluded during this time.

If it wasn't for this I would have been a member by now.
 
blah99 said:
I would have loved to change from Discovery to Genesis. The issue is when you join they only cover you at public hospitals for the first 3 months. This is a rule with most medical aids. Probably designed so that people don't change medical aids too often. Im not willing to take a 3 month chance of ending up in a public hospital.

So stuck with Discovery.
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You could consider Gap cover / Top-up insurance. Products from Liberty, Discovery Gap Cover, or others can help bridge shortfalls (e.g., co-payments, private hospital differences) during the waiting period. These often have minimal or no general waiting periods.
 
blah99 said:
No, The documentation clearly stated that I would only have cover at public hospitals for 3 months (for PMB's and emergencies ONLY). Any other cover is excluded during this time.

If it wasn't for this I would have been a member by now.
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That's weird, it may be linked to that specific plan though not the all of Genesis's plans
 
airborne said:
That's weird, it may be linked to that specific plan though not the all of Genesis's plans
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This is in their FAQ on their website. It does not specify a specific plan.
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airborne said:
That's weird, who in their right minds would move to them then, especially the people on expensive plans.
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Thats my point. I really wanted to move to them as I think Genesis are a great medical aid. But this put me off completely. I still get emails from them from time to time asking if I want to reconsider. I point them to that line on their FAQ page and then they go quiet on me. Clearly not looking for additional members. Or rather they are looking for new members, they just hope no one sees the small print.
 
blah99 said:
Thats my point. I really wanted to move to them as I think Genesis are a great medical aid. But this put me off completely. I still get emails from them from time to time asking if I want to reconsider. I point them to that line on their FAQ page and then they go quiet on me. Clearly not looking for additional members. Or rather they are looking for new members, they just hope no one sees the small print.
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That's odd. I'm looking it it with them and they are discussing with their internal underwriters the waiting periods and weighting. I don't think its as cut and dry, especially if you are shifting from an existing m/a to them.
 
Kosmik said:
That's odd. I'm looking it it with them and they are discussing with their internal underwriters the waiting periods and weighting. I don't think its as cut and dry, especially if you are shifting from an existing m/a to them.
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I can expect something like that for new young members who hasn't been on a medical aid. But I've been a member of Discovery most of my adult life without interruption.

Actually thinking about it now, it might be that they are looking for younger members to join rather older ones, as I just turned 50. Medical aids are stronger with more younger people joining.
 
All i can say is stay away from Bonitas, their new administrators are battling to cope with the take on. But thats what happens when you fraudulently award tenders to your Board members companies.
 
blah99 said:
I can expect something like that for new young members who hasn't been on a medical aid. But I've been a member of Discovery most of my adult life without interruption.

Actually thinking about it now, it might be that they are looking for younger members to join rather older ones, as I just turned 50. Medical aids are stronger with more younger people joining.
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Never been, gap in coverage etc. yeah. That's why I'm specifically waiting for their underwriters response as it was raised as a query and I will have it on paper if it goes ahead.
 
Kosmik said:
That's odd. I'm looking it it with them and they are discussing with their internal underwriters the waiting periods and weighting. I don't think its as cut and dry, especially if you are shifting from an existing m/a to them.
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blah99 said:
I can expect something like that for new young members who hasn't been on a medical aid. But I've been a member of Discovery most of my adult life without interruption.

Actually thinking about it now, it might be that they are looking for younger members to join rather older ones, as I just turned 50. Medical aids are stronger with more younger people joining.
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It perhaps only applies to those that previously had no medical aid?
 
saor said:
Is this just a Genesis thing or something they all do?
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Underwriting is something all medical aids do.

If you're starting a new company and joining under a large employer group, the underwriting is normally waived.
 
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