Healthcare in South Africa is in a state of crisis. Hence it is the average citizens of the country who are the ones paying the final price. This is why it is vital to be aware of health care costs and medical gap cover.
Only a tiny minority of our population can afford the steep prices charged by the private health care sector. And the majority have no option but to rely on public health care. Despite great efforts, public healthcare is still a realm of overworked and underpaid doctors, underfunded hospitals, and shortages in equipment and medicines.
Indeed, superior medical service and facilities are only available from the private health sector. And anyone who is concerned with their own, or their family’s health must make every effort to procure private healthcare services.
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This has, of course, led to the sad situation where private medical experts have raised their prices beyond what is sensible and fair. Since they know full well that people will pay whatever they ask for better medical treatment.
The Competition Commission and the Department of Health have tried to impose more rules on healthcare costs. Which is a sign that the private healthcare sector is overpriced and beyond the reach of most South Africans.
Medical Aid Shortfall
The National Health Reference Pricelist (NHRPL) is intended to provide a guideline for what can be charged for medical procedures. Sadly, many practitioners in the private healthcare sector disregard these NHRPL rates.
Research by Discovery Health has shown that, while most health specialists respect the NHRPL guidelines, many raise their prices far above the recommended limit, and sometimes charge up to 300% or 400% more than the advised rates.
This can become a problem for many medical aid members as most medical aids have certain limits on what they will pay for treatments and medicines, known as Medical Scheme Tariffs (MST’s). Unfortunately, doctors are free to charge what they want for their services. And this often leads to a difference between the final amount due and the amount covered by the MST as specified by the medical aid plans.
Indeed, medical aid members will have to pay this shortfall, and this comes as an unpleasant surprise for most. So what is the link between health care costs and medical Gap Cover?
Health care costs and medical Gap Cover.
Luckily, Liberty Health knows that a person’s health is their greatest asset. Gap Cover offered to protect medical aid members from the financial burden of steep and startling healthcare costs. And to make quality healthcare cheaper for the people of South Africa,
Gap Cover will pay the difference in cost between the rates that medical experts charge, and the costs covered by medical aids.
Thus, thanks to Liberty Health, Gap Cover is now simple and affordable. We provide a broad range of benefits which include:
- Oncology co-payments
- General co-payments
- In-hospital dentistry
- Comprehensive cover for outpatient treatment.
Also, Liberty Health gap cover can easily be extended to cover dependents. And it is fast becoming a trusted addition to many people’s financial portfolios. Indeed, we are constantly looking for new ways to close the gaps between medical rates and MST’s. Which puts Liberty Health at the forefront of medical cover in South Africa.
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