Primary Care insurance, and medical aid
Health insurance can help you save money on your medical costs. It can also help you choose a cheaper medical aid plan (similar to how a gap cover does). If you already have medical aid, you probably only need Primary Care cover from a hospital insurance policy.
Primary Care cover will pay for some of your out of hospital claims, possibly including GP visits, x-rays, blood work, medication and ER visits. You can see a comprehensive list of possible benefits here.
In theory, then, you can choose a medical aid plan without a medical savings account. Instead, you can rely on a health insurance plan to cover your GP costs, medication and x-rays. You will still receive cover from your medical scheme for any PMB related out-of-hospital claims, and – depending on your health insurance plan – might enjoy unlimited GP consults.
Of course, not all your claims are guaranteed to be covered by the insurance policy: for example, you might have to pay out of pocket for specialist consults. You can still opt to use a medical savings account to cover these claims, if you have one, or pay out-of-pocket.
If you can only afford a “hospital only” medical aid, Primary Care health insurance might be a clever way to bridge the gap of unpaid claims, especially for GP and medication costs.