How much you’ll pay for the cheapest and priciest medical aid plans in SA

Medical aid can be a huge expense for South African consumers therefore it is important to see how the costs of medical aids compare to each other. Picture: Rawpixel.com/Freepik

Medical aid can be a huge expense for South African consumers therefore it is important to see how the costs of medical aids compare to each other. Picture: Rawpixel.com/Freepik

Published Oct 1, 2024

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Momentum Medical Scheme has announced that it will implement an annual contribution adjustment of 9.4% for 2025 while Discovery Health Medical Scheme will be increasing contributions for 2025 by a weighted average increase of 9.3%.

Discovery and Momentum are just two of the top five leading medical aid schemes in South Africa, according to a 2024 report by the Council for Medical Schemes.

Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) and Bonitas Medical Fund also feature in the top five leading medical aid schemes list.

Discovery, which offers 22 plans across seven categories, has 1.36 million members and 2.8 million beneficiaries.

Momentum is the third largest medical aid scheme with 156,044 members and 296,119 beneficiaries. The medical aid offers 35 plans across six scheme categories.

Bonitas which has 730,000 members offers 15 plans across five scheme categories.

GEMS is a restricted medical scheme designed to meet the healthcare needs of government employees. It has six healthcare option and more than 800,000 main members and 2 million beneficiaries.

Here is a look at the cost of a basic and top level medical aid plan between Discovery, Bonitas, GEMS and Momentum.

Cost of medical aid in South Africa
Name of medical aidBasic medical aid planCost of basic level planTop level medical aid planCost of top level plan
DiscoveryKeycare seriesfrom R1,102Executivefrom R10,303
BonitasBonStartfrom R1,378pmBonComprehensivefrom R9,853
MomentumEvolve from R541Summitfrom R13,573
GEMSTanzanite One from R1,363 pmOnyxfrom R6,162

Medical aid and health insurance

There is often the misconception that medical aid and health insurance are the same thing, however, they are completely different.

Craig Comrie, CEO, Profmed said: “People need to seriously consider the implications and understand the difference between health insurance and medical aid.”

According to Comrie, one of the key distinctions between health insurance and medical schemes is their ownership structure which drives motives behind these healthcare products.

Comrie said that medical schemes are owned by members and dedicated to servicing their healthcare needs while offering them built-in protections.

Health insurance products are operated by insurers who may prioritise profit motives and have shareholders who require a return on their investment, according to Comrie. These disparities can lead to differences in coverage, benefits and differences in care.

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