Medical aid

A

AlexFl

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Hi there,

I'm looking for suggestions, referrals, etc. please.

Middle age male - healthy-ish. No dependants. Retrenched by big corporate. Was a member of their scheme. Have managed to remain on their scheme but they want me off now.

Want a medical aid, as opposed to just an accident/hospital plan. Something that will allow me access to the traditional basket of services eg. annual medical check up (and related blood/tests), ongoing dental (a filling here and there). Occasional cold and flu appointment.

Still un(der)employed and thus price sensitive. Unable to join a scheme as someone's dependant, other than possibly my 80yo mother, who seems to be with a very expensive insurer - Discovery.

Have had chronic medication prescribed previously for anxiety but stopped using the medication about 2 years ago. There may be a time when I'll need to undergo the consultations again to have same/similar prescribed again. But from my very limited research into medical aid schemes this week, the jump in monthly premium to include chronic medication is about as expensive as I remember the cash price of the medication being (appr. R1k).

A friend is on BestMed 'Beat 2' (https://bestmed.co.za/plans/Beat-2019) and, for under R2k/month, has had a good experience. Ball park R2k/month is affordable for me.

For those of you that, like me now, need to shop for and secure their own medical aid - who are you getting your best bang for buck from?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts...
 
My recommendation pretty much hits your budget. Discovery Classic Smart Plan (full breakdown here) for around R1794 and then blow the last R200 on gap cover or put that R200 a month away for emergencies. There is no medical savings with this plan.

It's a hospital plan with some benefits. Unlike the core series where you have to fund everything yourself, with some things you need to pay co-payments. Some examples:

* Unlimited doctor visits per year, just a R50 copayment
* One dental visit per year, R100 copayment
* One eye check per year, R50 copayment

I have only been with discovery, so I can't recommend anything else. It's no comprehensive medical aid, but it is a fair compromise for the price.
 
I am on the Classic Smart Plan and it is a good price for what you get. It also covers 200% medical aid rates.
 
I'm also on the Classic Smart and have no complaints so far. I put away a portion of the money I'm saving (between R500 and R1000 pm) to cover day-to-day medical expenses not covered by the plan. This is for a family of 4 - main member, one adult dependent and two kids.

I'd just make sure that you have a good Smart Network GP that you can access.
 
Discovery keycare might be good since its based on income. So I think its around R600 since you don't have an income. Usually its around 1.7k if you employed.
 
Discovery classic smart and keycare plus are great plans. I’m on smart and my SO is on keycare and they have both been very good.
 
Just read the small print with the Discovery budget plans, firstly they aren't cheap if you earn above R10k and secondly they have really low limits for some serious conditions, like cancer, back injuries etc, the high cost stuff you really need medical aid to cover.
 
Most grateful for replies.

So, it's unanimous then? Nobody can recommend anything other than Discovery?

I'll make necessary enquiries around Discovery Smart series and Discovery Keycare and may revert here with questions.

Thanks again.
 
Was eventually given a reference to contact a Warren Heroldt who very efficiently spoke me through the pro's and con's and signed me up on Discovery's Classic Smart Plan. Warren is a 'mensch', Google him in need.
 
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