What is a medical aid scheme?
A medical aid ensures that member subscribed to
the medical aid receive certain medical and hospital treatment. Medical aids normally have different packages that
members subscribe to with a monthly fee. In other words, by paying a monthly fee to the specific medical aid, the member can now
“afford”, for example, to undergo an operation without needing to pay for the doctor, the laboratory tests,
the hospital bed, the anesthetics, or the recovery period. It all depends on what type of medical aid plan the
member is subscribed to.
In South Africa you have the choice of receiving
healthcare at private or public hospitals. Patients who need medical aids, but do not have the necessary funds,
have the option of going to a public hospital. Private hospitals patient have medical aids or can afford paying for
these services.
The Medical Schemes Act (1998) regulates the
different medical aids in South Africa. Medical aids are non-profit organisations belonging to the members of the
specific medical aid.
To get your medical aid plan quote by email
Advantages of a Medical Aid
The greatest advantage of a medical aid is the
surety that you family is looked after when it comes to health care. By budgeting and paying a monthly
subscription, you will be able to “afford” all sudden health emergencies.
Health care is very expensive and despite
budgeting, you cannot control your family’s health or need for medical attention. Medical aid schemes assist health
treatment for your family under normal circumstances, for example:
- When your wife becomes pregnant, she will
need regular visits to the gynecologist to ensure her health and the baby’s. Whether the mother gives birth
naturally or with the help of a caesarian, she is admitted to the maternity ward. When the baby is born,
delivery and after care is required. - Neonates and small babies need their regular
checkup visits to the pediatrician. Babies become sick and sometimes they are
hospitalized. - Children play and hurt themselves. Most of
the times a plaster, and a get-well-kiss from the mother is enough. However, there are times that it is more
than a scratch and stitches are needed. When your child becomes sick with the normal, common children disease,
such as measles, they still need to be treated by a doctor.
The second advantage of medical aids is those
unforeseen circumstances that cannot be planned for, for example:
- Your baby suddenly becomes sick and when you
take her to the doctor, he hospitalizes her for the possibility of meningitis or gastroenteritis. Babies need
extra care; their immune systems are more fragile than adults’. - You could be driving your children to school
when you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, and medical attention is
necessary. - Your youngest can break their arm or injure
their leg during a sport’s game at school. - Your teenage daughter has excruciating pain
in her side. When you take her to the doctor, she is rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendix
operation.
What is a
medical aid? A medical aid is
your safeguard against all health and medical issues. No matter what the medical needs are, you and your family
are covered by the medical aid to receive the necessary medical attention required, from being stitches in the
doctor’s rooms, to treatment by a specialist, or an emergency operation. © Medical Aid Plan
NOTES:
Your medical aid quote will include options to suit your pocket. Please ensure that the cover you
select is exactly what you need and that you understand exactly what insurance you are buying. Do not hesitate to
ask questions about the medical aid or hospital cover you choose.