Your monthly premiums combined with out of pocket health expenses will always take a significant chunk out of your monthly budget. Nevertheless, there are real ways that you can save money on your medical aid, and the entry level plans are designed to be affordable and beneficial.
Affordable medical aid for everyone?
There are still some very affordable medical aid plans in South Africa. Did you know that you can get a Momentum plan for under R460 per month?
Granted, most of these “under R1,000” plans are income based, which means that you can only join them if the main member’s income is below a certain bracket. For example, the above mentioned Momentum plan is only applicable if you earn R0-R750 per month, which makes it ideal for students or the unemployed. As your income levels rise, so do the premiums.
Of course, there are also very affordable non-income based plans too. We lists medical aid plans by their price.
All plans cover PMBs
Remember, all medical aids have to cover all life threatening conditions, as well as other conditions known as Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs). Even if your medical aid is bottom of the range, and imposes a limit on hospital expenses, it cannot impose a monetary limit on these PMBs. So just by signing up for the cheapest medical aid, you are guaranteeing yourself medical care in case of any life threatening emergency, regardless of the benefits of that plan.
