Medical aid in South Africa consists of a large number of medical aid companies, all of which offer a wide range of healthcare plans that are available to everyone. Some South African Medical Aids are only open to membership from people in certain professions, such as the South African Police Force, doctors, government employees etc. Other medical aid schemes are open to everyone, and even that has not been enough to entice large sections of the South African public to sign up to one.
A recent survey has suggested that fewer than 1 in 5 South African residents are currently a member of a medical aid scheme, and this means that most people are still reliant on the medical facilities that are provided by the South African government. The problem with this attitude to private medical aid is that too many people are currently using these publicly owned healthcare facilities, and this is therefore putting an enormous strain on them. Long waiting times, and poor medical treatment and run down facilities are all that people can expect from a government owned medical facility, such as a hospital or other treatment centre.
South African Medical Aids have been around for a surprisingly long time, and some medical aid providers have been providing their members with access to medical aid facilities for decades. Some medical aid schemes are only open to people from specific walks of life, such as doctors, nurses, politicians and local government workers for example. However, most medical aid schemes in South Africa are open to everyone, regardless of their medical history, background, job or circumstances.
Medical aid healthcare plans range from basic hospital plans, to more comprehensive plans that allow for the payment of treatments for everyday medical care and chronic medical conditions. Hospital healthcare plans are there for people that just want to be covered against the possibility of having to undergo treatment in a private hospital. These are people that can either afford to pay for their day to day medical expenses or those people that are on low incomes and cannot afford to join a more comprehensive medical aid healthcare plan.
As you can see, joining a South African Medical Aids healthcare scheme is much more beneficial than relying on medical assistance from government owned medical aid schemes. You will have far more access to quality medical care and you will not have to put up with long waiting times either.