Medical Aid

N

nkonzosims

Active Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Messages
52
Reaction score
28
Hi there,

I am looking for suggestions

I am 24, healthy-ish. no dependents currently working. i am looking for a medical aid that will allow me access to do annual medical check ups (blood tests). The plan should have access to eye care related, nasal(every spring i usually get sinus) and maybe dentistry.

willing to pay as much as R2500. well thats as far as my wallet allows me
thanks.
 
Check out discovery saver or Discovery priority. Both. Have a fair amount of savings for medical tests. Also lean towards the classic vs essential.
 
nkonzosims said:
Hi there,

I am looking for suggestions

I am 24, healthy-ish. no dependents currently working. i am looking for a medical aid that will allow me access to do annual medical check ups (blood tests). The plan should have access to eye care related, nasal(every spring i usually get sinus) and maybe dentistry.

willing to pay as much as R2500. well thats as far as my wallet allows me
thanks.
Click to expand...

You have to think very carefully here, especially as far as your wallet allows.
You have to understand: Be aware of this abstract component=TIME
1-TME=Over many years till you retire how much would you put in, against how must claimed-?
Try to understand how much money you might have to just simply write off if you change plans or insurance
company-? This is extremely important, have the foresight now, rather looking back 40 years later.
2-Yearly increases + above inflation.
3-Yearly plans fineprint-How much must you pay in on top of your huge monthly payment-?.
4-Yearly changes on plans, your plan might change in fineprint each year, appart from the yearly increases.
5-AsTIME steps on, are you going to be forced down the plans as the payment rises and becomes unaffordable to
you-? Very inportant to understand.

Go test and see how much foresight your broker or agent has.
 
A different approach: self-insurance.

If you are healthy, consider the alternative to open an account at Allan Gray (or similar) and pump the money that you would have paid to medical aid into this every month. When necessary, withdraw funds pay for (only real) medical expenses.

Increase your monthly payments every year, in line with medical aid increases.
 
deesef said:
A different approach: self-insurance.

If you are healthy, consider the alternative to open an account at Allan Gray (our similar) and pump the money that you would have paid to medical aid into this every month. When necessary, withdraw funds pay for (only real) medical expenses.

Invest your monthly payments every year, in line with medical aid increases.
Click to expand...
Which is so good and well until you have a real medical emergency and the accompanying couple of million Rand bill
 
Speedster said:
Which is so good and well until you have a real medical emergency and the accompanying couple of million Rand bill
Click to expand...
The medical aids generally also bail when it comes to this type of bill...
 
deesef said:
A different approach: self-insurance.

If you are healthy, consider the alternative to open an account at Allan Gray (or similar) and pump the money that you would have paid to medical aid into this every month. When necessary, withdraw funds pay for (only real) medical expenses.

Increase your monthly payments every year, in line with medical aid increases.
Click to expand...

This. Until your're 34 atleast. Eye tests and glasses you save up and pay yourself (spec savers etc. is cheap). For dental just take care of your teeth with an Oral b electric toothbrush. For sinus get Cetirizine or Texa allergy at Clicks etc.
 
backstreetboy said:
This. Until your're 34 atleast. Eye tests and glasses you save up and pay yourself (spec savers etc. is cheap). For dental just take care of your teeth with an Oral b electric toothbrush. For sinus get Cetirizine or Texa allergy at Clicks etc.
Click to expand...
And if you have a genuine medical emergency - state hospital?
 
Speedster said:
And if you have a genuine medical emergency - state hospital?
Click to expand...
I'm thinking of cancelling my medical aid and going state as well. Paying plus R2000 and still have to pay when visiting the hospital out of pocket. THEN reclaim AFTERWARDS. Sometimes NOT getting my full amount back. State hospital is not that bad depending where you go.

If NHI passes we'll be forced to cancel anyway. Guess I'll wait it out or emigrate to a country with a good national health system.
 
backstreetboy said:
This. Until your're 34 atleast. Eye tests and glasses you save up and pay yourself (spec savers etc. is cheap). For dental just take care of your teeth with an Oral b electric toothbrush. For sinus get Cetirizine or Texa allergy at Clicks etc.
Click to expand...

Do you make money with product placement in your posts? Just a pattern I'm seeing.
 
We're a family of 5 so get R1247pm in medical tax credits, plus I get R800 medical aid contribution from my employer. Medical aid (hospital plan) works out to about R2000 per month for us then. I'd much rather pay that as an insurance fee each month than run the risk of paying out of pocket for a genuine emergency
 
Speedster said:
Which is so good and well until you have a real medical emergency and the accompanying couple of million Rand bill
Click to expand...
exactly my problem. I don't mind saving but medical aids come in handy when you need them
 
Plans don’t include those benefits any more.

They all just bolt on an MSA and then save your own money for you to pay for such things.

Rather just save your own MSA and get a hospital plan + gap cover if you have the discipline for it.

Regardless you’ll never get all you want for R2500 a month.
 
nkonzosims said:
Hi there,

I am looking for suggestions

I am 24, healthy-ish. no dependents currently working. i am looking for a medical aid that will allow me access to do annual medical check ups (blood tests). The plan should have access to eye care related, nasal(every spring i usually get sinus) and maybe dentistry.

willing to pay as much as R2500. well thats as far as my wallet allows me
thanks.
Click to expand...
This is how I chose my medical aid.

I ended up going with Genesis medical, they are second to none (and dental is included in the hospital plans).

platinumwealth.co.za

What medical aid fund should I choose?

Time to choose a medical aid plan. So many options and they all look like legal pyramid schemes to me so I need some assistance. What is the best medical aid to have for someone looking for the following: I am in my 20s, very healthy and rarely go the doctor. I have an emergency fund to cover for...
platinumwealth.co.za platinumwealth.co.za
 
Medical aid seems like a bad idea until you actually have a emergency or a medical problem. My dad had a heart bypass and several stents put in his legs this year, medical aid covered everything. And because my dad used a hospital in their medical aid's network, there was zero co-payments. To all the clever people who feel like medical aid is useless, trust me, you won't feel so clever when you actually get severely sick and require expense treatment. People have a very warped naive view on getting sick. Many people never saw their health problems coming...

As for OP, I am currently on the Discovery Coastal Saver plan. I pay R2400 and for that I get a hospital plan with all the frills and 20% of my premium goes to my Medical Savings Account for any out of hospital payments. That is more than enough to cover my dental visits, medication, doctor visits and optometrist. There is also tons of other plans at Discovery, the main difference being your premium vs your Medical Savings Account. You can consider also just getting a hospital plan and then saving R500 on your own for Out of Hospital expenses which can add up. There is no reason to feel like you must have a medical savings account. If you really want to save, look at Discovery's Smart Plans. VERY competitive rates but you have to go to a hospital in their network (which isn't a train smash imo) .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X