Affordable Medical Aids Mean different Things to Different People
When considering how one may make provision to help meet the cost of private healthcare, a great deal will depend upon the requirements of the individual concerned. For instance, if that individual is a young man or woman, unmarried and in good general health, then their specific requirements from an affordable medical aid are likely to differ substantially from those of a couple in their early forties with a family of three children ranging from tots to teenagers. Needless to say, so will their relative ability to meet the corresponding monthly premiums.
Life is, by its very nature, more than a little unpredictable. Consequently, the best one can really hope for when arranging healthcare cover is to ensure that most of those needs that one is able to anticipate have been adequately catered for by its stated benefits when subject to any terms and conditions that may govern them.
In the case of the young bachelor referred to earlier, the greatest threat to their finances is the possibility of an accident or acute illness that might require a lengthy period in hospital, surgery, and other expensive services. In such case, the fact that such cover applies only when an in-patient is no reason why a hospital plan should not be seen as the most affordable medical aid option in these cases.
Clearly, this is not the solution for the family group in which at least one member is almost certain to file a claim practically every month, if not more frequently, especially if one of the group suffers from a chronic illness such as asthma or diabetes. In this case, a more comprehensive form of cover is essential and, naturally, will cost correspondingly more. For the formally employed, group schemes with preferred rates and employer contributions make costs less of an obstacle. For the self-employed, however, the best option among the more affordable medical aids are the products devised by KeyHealth, based on more than half a century of assisting South Africans with their private healthcare expenses.
