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When it comes to medical aid schemes, two things tend to happen at this time of year.

The first is that people start reviewing their providers, or looking into signing up for medical cover.

The second is that those doing the providing start thinking about hiking costs on their various offerings, ranging from hospital cover to comprehensive packages that take care of just about everything.

Let’s tackle the first one before we look at the proposed increases for 2021.

Moneyweb spoke to Annelé Oosthuizen, branch head at Alexander Forbes Health, about what consumers are looking for in medical aid schemes for 2021.

She says that there has been an increase in inquiries across the board from people who have been hit financially by the pandemic, most of whom are looking to downgrade to a cheaper plan that will still provide them with the assistance that they need.

So, best advice is to call a consultant, who can take them through the various options available, because members can choose from having only a hospital cover up to a more comprehensive plan that will cover all their day-to-day [medical expenses].

As is the case with most things, if you pay more, you get more, which for people with conditions that require constant medical attention can break the bank.

To date, Discovery is the only medical aid provider that is holding off on a contribution increase – at least not until July 2021. That’s a solid added six months of relief.

However, as TimesLIVE‘s Wendy Knowler points out, once that six months is up, you’re looking at a hike of 5,9%, which averages at about 3% for the year.

This is still lower than the proposed increases from many competitors who are waiting for the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to give them the go-ahead to hike costs.

The CMS is a regulatory body that has to approve benefits and premiums and made it clear that increases for 2021 should be no higher than 3,9%.

As you’ll see below, the proposed increases are for the most part much higher:

• Momentum Health: 3.9% weighted average increase (differs per option)
• Bestmed: 4% weighted average increase (differs per option)
• Medihelp: 5,8% weighted average increase (differs per option)
• Fedhealth: 8.7% weighted increase (differs per option)
• Bonitas: 4.6% across all options

The increases are odd considering that fewer people were going to the doctor (unless absolutely necessary) during the lockdown, with most elective procedures put on hold.

In this sense, most schemes should have seen an increase in reserves, which should allow them to lower premiums in 2021.

Knowler goes into more detail, which you can read here.

[sources:moneyweb&timeslive]