It can be said that South African state-owned medical facilities are grossly over-burdened and under-resourced. Even though the need and demand for medical services, major and minor, is so great, these entities are struggling to cope effectively, despite their dedication and best efforts.
Needing Medical Care
Who suffers as a consequence? Unfortunately, it is the very people who desperately require subsidised or free medical care that bear the brunt of a well-intentioned but failing system. Moreover, the proposed NHI (National Health Insurance) – intended to be more or less the equivalent of Britain’s NHS (National Health Service) – is still far from being a done deal.
Finding Your Own Solutions
Additionally, many have expressed doubts that the NHI is a workable model for South Africa in the current economic climate, with the current population demographics. Whatever the case may prove to be, citizens need to find their own solutions for the current public medical situation right now and for the near future and it is vital that everyone who is able to obtain some type of medical cover does so, because one don’t know what might occur, medically speaking.
Accidents and Medical Emergencies
Accidents, medical emergencies, and events of all sorts can happen – and they do. Unexpectedly, in-hospital procedures and treatment may be essential, thus it is equally essential to have a hospital plan, at the very least.
There are times when immediate, expert attention is essential, but in a government-run medical facility the patient may have to wait their turn if they don’t have some type of private medical cover that includes a hospital plan that gives them access to a private facility.
Hospital Plan vs. Cash Plan
Before you join any type of medically related scheme, it is very important to understand its terms, conditions, and exclusions. At various times, cash plans are advertised in the media, indicating that they pay the policy holder a sum of money for each day spent in hospital, after a certain number of days following admission.
The cash may be used for anything at all, not necessarily for medical expenses. However, the costs of surgery, treatments, and medicines can easily run into hundreds of thousands of Rands, far exceeding the limits of cash plans. A cash plan is not an option that caters for expensive in-hospital medical intervention.
A hospital plan, offered by Medshield Medical Scheme, provides the patient with extensive medical benefits when hospitalised. This cover forms the basis of all seven of our medical scheme’s range of benefit options. Our option is called MediCore, which provides unlimited in-hospital cover for major medical emergencies through our Medshield Hospital Network.
MediCore is an excellent choice for those who are young and healthy, as well as those who are able to manage their day-to-day medical needs independently.
