JOHANNESBURG - A new medical aid scheme says it aims to shake up the South African market by adopting a personalised approach to healthcare cover for members at all income levels.
Health Squared says because of a tough macroeconomic environment, there has not been significant growth in the number of medical scheme members in South Africa, a trend acknowledged by the Council for Medical Schemes.
"The trend is further exacerbated by rising private healthcare costs, prompting many members to question whether their medical scheme offers true value for money,” the new scheme's spokeswoman Bianca Viljoen said.
"In the midst of an industry-wide trend towards members ‘buying down’ on their healthcare cover, we believe that Health Squared’s disruptive approach will clearly illustrate that comprehensive cover can indeed be affordable."
She noted that employers were generally not keeping pace with healthcare inflation on their employees’ medical scheme subsidies, if these were offered at all.
Among 11 options, Health Squared says it offers one of the most affordable entry-level health cover options where members are required to make use of network healthcare providers.