B2B Central

Medical Insurance

01 Jun 2021

If your Gap Cover does not include PMBs you could be liable for significant shortfalls

By Staff Writer

Gap Cover is a short-term insurance product tailored to extend the benefits of medical aid, by covering shortfalls on hospital and doctors’ bills, as well as sub-limits and co-payments imposed by medical schemes. However, the specifics of what is covered and how it is covered differs widely between Gap Cover providers, and even between different products from the same provider.
26 Apr 2021

Growing inclusion non-negotiable for SA healthcare

By Staff Writer

Quality healthcare and the peace of mind it provides can only be sustainable if it is made accessible to more South African households. To this end, Netcare, one of the country’s leading private healthcare providers, is expanding healthcare funding options available in South Africa to address the affordability barrier still faced by many individuals and families.
19 Apr 2021

Gap cover claims grow in shortfall quantum during 2020

By Staff Writer

An analysis of gap insurance claims paid by Sirago Underwriting Managers during 2020 shows that not only are average gap claims values rising, but large or mega gap claims are also increasing in frequency, with large shortfalls ranging between R41 000 and R164 000 for in-hospital treatments not paid by medical schemes.

04 Mar 2021

Gap cover – an essential employee benefit

By Staff Writer

The majority of employers in the formal sector maintain medical scheme cover as a compulsory employee benefit for staff where affordability is realistically manageable. This is a good labour policy to maintain, as even the entry level options provide fairly good packages with access to the high quality private healthcare sector.

28 Mar 2020

COVID-19 in South Africa – we must all play our part

By Janice Roberts

In December 2019 an outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) broke out in the city of Wuhan, China.
27 Jan 2020

Fintech helps control medical costs for you and your staff

By Janice Roberts

Between 70 – 80% of employed South Africans cannot afford medical aid and do not always have cash readily available to pay for unexpected medical expenses. Increasingly, employers are unable to offer access to a medical aid. Even those South Africans who can afford a medical aid often run out of benefits before the year...
08 Jan 2020

Gap cover can help alleviate financial burden of breast cancer treatment

By Janice Roberts

Breast cancer affects women of all ages and all races. In fact, according to the 2014 National Cancer Registry (NCR), it is the second most common cancer in women in South Africa and carries a lifetime risk of 1 in 27. A diagnosis of breast cancer is a devastating blow, and the last thing any...
07 Nov 2019

Broadening your employee benefits portfolio with gap cover

By Janice Roberts

The current state of public healthcare facilities in South Africa and growing pressure on consumer wallets has reinforced the fact that employee benefits, especially private healthcare insurance, remain an invaluable part of the total compensation package.  Regrettably, today medical schemes will no longer cover members for everything, and additional insurances are necessary to limit members’...
04 Nov 2019

Rising medical aid rates: Making the most of your cover and shoring up any gaps

By Janice Roberts

By: Tony Singleton, CEO of Turnberry Management Risk Solutions Medical aids have released their rates for 2020, and there are increases ahead of inflation. While it may not seem that way to the end customer, medical aids are locked in a delicate balancing act to maintain a tolerable level of increase and keep private healthcare...
30 Aug 2019

Can tech address the needs of healthcare patients?

By Janice Roberts

While receiving adequate care and proper treatment are top of mind for patients who turn to the healthcare system, these end users are ultimately also seeking an improved overall “patient experience” during their interactions with the healthcare industry.
05 Aug 2019

Medical costs rise considerably as we become older

By Janice Roberts

It is, statistically, an inescapable part of life that our medical costs and expenses will rise considerably as we become older. Retirees who are drawing down fixed incomes must deal with escalating costs of medical aid and expense shortfalls, creating a significant challenge in coping with erosion of their income at a rate that outstrips...
29 May 2019

Medical aid and gap cover – the top broker concerns

By Janice Roberts

The affordability of medical aid is the number one concern for many brokers, as premiums continue to increase while coverage decreases. Increasing medical inflation means that even substantial increases in premiums cannot keep pace, and as a result many medical schemes are implementing restrictions on certain benefits, increased co-payments along with other measures to ensure...