Most South Africans believe private hospitals are not open to those without medical aid, but this is not true. Whether you belong to a medical aid or not, you can receive treatment at a private hospital.

The greatest challenge is that because the services are not offered at a reduced cost, those who cannot afford to pay for their treatment in cash, and are not critically ill, are often turned away. Granted, private healthcare is not cheap anywhere in the world and in SA more than 60% of the population cannot afford to pay for private healthcare treatment.

One solution to this problem has been hospital plans, which should not be confused with hospital insurance. A hospital insurance policy pays the beneficiary a certain amount of cash for each day in hospital, and then the patient has to settle the medical accounts. Often this daily amount received from hospital insurance policies is not enough to cover the medical expenses. Therefore, hospital plans offered by accredited medical aid schemes have become increasingly popular. 

Many believe that being young, fit and active means that comprehensive medical aid cover is not a primary need until later in life, but a hospital plan is a way of preparing for the unexpected. Young, healthy individuals often opt for hospital plans with no comprehensive day-to-day benefits that allow active, healthy individuals the freedom to manage their daily healthcare needs.

In response to requests from the market for an affordable hospital plan, Medshield Medical Scheme has launched a new member benefit option, MediSwift, as the latest addition to its bouquet of benefit options. MediSwift is a cost-effective, value-based hospital plan with additional out-of-hospital wellness, physiotherapy and biokinetics benefits.

Extra value for the young and fit individual

In the current challenging economic climate, made worse by the effect of  the Covid-19 pandemic on consumers, it was important for Medshield to develop a hospital cover option that could meet the unique healthcare needs of young adults. The plan caters for people who work out regularly, follow healthy eating habits and participate in athletic activities. Based on the insights derived from thorough research and data, Medshield identified a gap in the market for inpatient hospital cover at low monthly premiums, tailored to the immediate needs of these young adults.

With the member-centric MediSwift benefit design, Medshield confirms its commitment to provide all South Africans with value for money and access to much needed quality healthcare, no matter their diverse healthcare needs. 

Medshield's vision is “Partnering with you towards your personal healthcare and wellbeing”, and it remains committed to its members by paying special attention to their individual healthcare needs. Their range of nine medical aid plans feature a host of benefits that are very competitive in the market, and when comparing apples to apples, their  plans most often come out tops in terms of value for money and benefit richness compared to their main competitors.

MediSwift provides private inpatient hospital care and treatment to young adults by granting them access to some of the best private hospitals, doctors, surgeons and specialists in SA within the Medshield network.

Over and above the in-hospital benefits, MediSwift also features a physiotherapy and biokinetics benefit and two family practitioner visits annually, (which are stand-alone primary care benefits and not linked to a hospital admission only), specifically for those active members who might require treatment, but whose injuries are not serious enough for a hospital admission. This new plan is designed to address the feedback received from brokers and the market.

However, it is also important to note that a plan or option selection should always align to the member's healthcare needs. In addition to the extra value already mentioned, the MediSwift plan also features an annual Medshield Wellness benefit that includes the Covid-19 vaccination, flu vaccination, birth control, cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose and BMI tests, among other things.

All members also have access to a loyalty programme specifically designed for Medshield members. The scheme has collaborated with Elevate and Just Rewards to offer members a loyalty programme with a difference.

Elevate’s health and wellness portal gives Medshield members access to new technology that records and store their lifestyle data in one place and rewards them for healthy behaviour. It also links to smartphones and wearable devices to measure all their physical activity, earning members even more rewards.

The partnership with Just Rewards offers members access to an easy, no stress lifestyle and wellness rewards programme through their free ExtraCare Tier featuring grocery savings, legal benefits and so on, while the Lifestyle Tier includes a host of rewards ranging from dining, movie, retail and gym membership benefits, among other things.

'Start Right' with MediSwift

 At Medshield, we want our young people to “Start Right”. That begins with exceptional medical cover and access to private healthcare made possible by a scheme that takes their age and lifestyle needs into consideration. Being part of a younger age group still has its potential health risks, even though these young people might feel that they will be fine, healthy and well forever.

Hospital cover enables young adults to embark on a personal health journey that starts right. Not having any medical cover can leave you exposed to risk in the future. With this in mind, our MediSwift Start Right campaign is a call to action, speaking to this younger audience who are beginning their life journey and know that they need a health cover partner who will prioritise their wellbeing through every stage of life. 

With a history of more than 53 years, Medshield is driven by its mission to provide access to sustainable and affordable, quality healthcare through innovative products and benefits at very competitive prices. 

This article was paid for by Medshield.