Long ago, medical technology and medically accurate diagnoses were not as advanced as is now the case. Numerous medical conditions and diseases were misdiagnosed or thought to be of unknown origin. Some, such as superficially visible injuries, were patently obvious, and correctly diagnosed and treated, according to the best available knowledge and means of the time.
Today, the limited medical knowledge, treatments, and earliest types of hospitals of long ago are considered rather primitive by our modern, sophisticated standards, particularly with regard to mental disorders. It was only in 1951 that Richard Asher named a particular mental disorder, in which a person fabricates illness or injury and their often exaggerated, dramatic physical symptoms in order to gain attention from others, including from the medical profession, as “Munchhausen Syndrome”.
Necessary or Essential Hospital Admission
Without delving more deeply into Munchhausen Syndrome, one may assume that only an unfortunate victim of Munchhausen Syndrome would eagerly anticipate and look forward to being admitted to hospital. The rest of us would probably only go into hospital because a professional medical practitioner deemed hospital admission necessary or essential to receive the best medical treatment or procedures for recovery, health, and wellbeing.
Choosing a Private Hospital
A stay in hospital is expensive, especially if you are admitted to a private facility. Private hospitals are preferred by most South Africans, because state hospitals are under-resourced and overburdened. State patient admissions are often delayed for lengthy periods, because no beds are available, operating theatres are fully booked, equipment has broken down, or specialists are not available. You will choose a private hospital over a state-run facility any day, providing that you have a hospital plan to cover your expenses. If you do not have one yet, perhaps it is time to apply.
Everyone Charges Fees, Someone Must Pay
In every hospital, private or government funded, charges are levied for every item and service, from time used in an operating theatre, an anaesthetist and his/her services, and each and every swab, bandage, syringe, and piece of cotton wool. Nothing is free; somebody pays. Without a medical aid hospital plan, that somebody is you. Hospital expenses claimed from you can sink you financially and forever, unless you have applied successfully for a medical hospital plan.
Cash Plan vs Hospital Plan
A so-called hospital cash plan has virtually nothing to do with medical matters. While these cash plans, to which people contribute monthly, pay a patient a set amount for each day spent in hospital, the cash may be used for anything under the sun – family expenses, debt payment, school fees, sundry purchases, or as partial payments for hospitalisation, doctors, medicine, etc. It is unlikely that the daily cash amount will be sufficient to pay in full for a day’s stay in hospital. Moreover, payments only commence after a few days post-admission.
Every KeyHealth medical aid option, of which there are six, includes a hospital plan, because we deem having medical aid cover for disaster or major medical expenses, in hospital, as essential, since it may be life-saving.
Depending on the KeyHealth option you want to apply for, certain designated service providers, terms and conditions, as well as exclusions apply, but the most important aspect is a real hospital medical plan to fund the most essential hospital costs. Apply for an affordable KeyHealth plan now. Online applications, via our website, are simple and smart, just like KeyHealth.