Despite the constraints on household income in 2020 due to the pandemic, many medical schemes reported that members chose to downgrade to more affordable plans instead, rather than cancelling their cover.
In SA around one in six people are covered by medical schemes while the balance of the population relies on the public sector for the provision of health care.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted inequality in the healthcare space and the stark divisions between the country’s public and private healthcare sectors. Not discounting the tremendous toll on human lives, the pandemic has, however, provided some opportunity for a positive change in the healthcare funding environment.
According to Dr Reinder Nauta, executive chair of National HealthCare Group, a healthcare provider in the low-cost and emerging segments of the healthcare market, the ground has been prepared for the introduction of several fundamental private sector initiatives aimed at providing cost-efficient healthcare services to a far larger spectrum of the population.
This fascinating topic was the subject of the Lifestyle Focus: Medical Cover report published in the Sunday Times Lifestyle supplement on June 13 2021.
Read the full report below.
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