Discovery price increase: Struggling with medical aid costs? Try these options (VIDEO)

The cost of living keeps rising, with Discovery Health Medical Scheme increasing its contributions from Wednesday, 1 April. The latest hike to medical aid costs in the country is forcing many South Africans to decide what to prioritise and what to forfeit. Insurance and quality healthcare are often the first to go, since people don’t feel they need them until an emergency arises.

Rather than relying on faith alone because medical aids are too expensive, it’s wise to explore alternatives, similar to medical aids, that can still give you access to quality healthcare in the country. For this article, we will focus only on health insurance, hospital plans, and gap cover. Health insurance mainly covers everyday medical needs such as doctor visits, basic tests, and medication.

Hospital plans, on the other hand, only cover you when you are admitted to hospital for serious illness or injury. Gap cover is not a standalone option, but rather a top-up that helps pay the difference between what your medical aid or hospital plan covers and what healthcare providers actually charge. Dis-Chem, a pharmacy retailer hashealth insurance planfrom R549 per month.

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It is similar to a medical aid, but differs in that it offers more limited, defined benefits rather than comprehensive cover. What Dis-Chem’s health insurance covers is private doctors (GPs) consultations, medication, maternity care, dentistry, eye exams and glasses, tests, scans and screenings, and counselling. Discovery Healthalso has a health cover starting from R459 per month offering unlimited GP consultations, X-rays, flu vaccine and maternity benefits, among others.

However, another plan starting at R539 per month, which offers more benefits such as specialist consultations, dentistry and optometry. What health insurance does not cover is unlimited hospital treatment and full benefits for chronic or long-term conditions, like a medical aid would. Then there are hospital plans for people who hardly make visits to the doctors’ offices; however, these are a bit more pricey than health insurance plans.

Affinity Health has hospital plansstarting from R1 438 per month. Adding a spouse would cost an additional R1 328, an adult dependant would cost the same amount as a spouse, while a child dependant would cost an additional R438 each.

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