MedicalAids.net is a South African website on medical schemes and private health care funding. We are not a financial services provider, medical scheme or health care provider. The aim of this website is to provide up to date and relevant information on all aspects of medical aids and private health care in South Africa as an independent resources. We urge readers to speak directly to their medical scheme, insurance company or service provider regarding any medical or consumer issues.
At a time when South Africans are financially crippled by rising healthcare costs in the private sector, medical aids are the only safety net to afford medical services. But schemes do not offer a blanker protection against every and all health care costs. South African consumers are often unaware that they have to take responsibility for their health care finances and utilise medical aid benefits cautiously and only when needed.
As medical insurance companies across the globe are now pushing through incentives for consumer-driven healthcare, South Africans have to also play their part in taking care of their health and controlling spending on medical services. In simple terms this means regular screening, healthy living, compliance in taking treatment and not partaking in health care “shopping” as it is known. It also means not committing medical aid fraud or colluding with practitioners to extract benefits from other insurance policies by “playing sick”.
Most health care consumers are not aware of the potential pitfalls in private health care and particularly the financial implications. Our focus is to bring many of these issues to light through our database of articles. The domain owner, website administrator and staff of the media company operating this website will not be held responsible for any misuse of information on this website. Our content only serves as a guide and readers should seek advice from the relevant parties (their scheme, insurer, broker, financial planner, doctor) about specific matters.