We often think of medical aid as just an everyday part of our lives, something that has always been around, but few of us know the history behind it. Medical aid was introduced in America in the 1950’s and did not make its way to South Africa until the 1980’s. Some of the very first medical aid programs that were offered were hospital cash back schemes which are still sold in countries all over the world today. The popularity of medical aid really exploded in South Africa once it had arrived here and by 1989 there had already been over 50,000 policies sold. This figure continued to rise throughout the 1990’s, largely through direct marketing campaigns and advertising in the media.
Main Building of Groote Schuur Hospital – Cape Town (South Africa) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the beginning, the only policies that were available were sold on a group basis. It was not until the start of the 1990’s that individual medical aid schemes became widely available. There were around 13 different medical aid providers across South Africa by 1991. It was in South Africa that so called ‘dread disease cover’, which includes 36 critical illnesses including cancer, stroke, organ transplant and other conditions with a major impact on daily life, first began here in South Africa. This cover is now offered worldwide. Following the dread disease cover, came disability cover, and by the mid 1990’s medical aid was beginning to resemble what we know today.
Statistics suggest that by around 1994 the annual premiums for dread disease and disability coverage had reached over R21 million policies, suggesting that most of the population was signing up for medical aid in order to safeguard against unforeseen medical problems in the future. Within the next five years this had increased to R53 million.
Moving into the present day, medical aid providers cover a wide range of health issues and offer multiple policies allowing everyone to find cover that is suitable for their family’s individual needs. This includes special medical aid programs for those suffering from AIDS or HIV. This is particularly important since in South Africa we have one of the highest rates of HIV infection.
The key thing to remember is that medical aid is constantly evolving, so even if you have found it difficult to get appropriate medical care in the past, there may now be a suitable product for your situation. If you are looking for medical aid quotes, then here at medical-aid.co.za we can compare a number of different providers for you saving you a great deal of time and effort. We will check policies with all of the South African providers to make sure that you are getting the best possible deal.
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