I remember the days when a medical aid was exactly that a medical aid. You used to be able to subscribe to a medical aid with various options from basic membership where you carried a percentage of the cost to full cost coverage. The rates were based on the plan chosen and a premium price was charged for full coverage.
Then came along the idea for splitting the medical benefit into two parts a medical savings scheme and a "reserve" fund. The idea initially was that with the savings you pay a percentage of the cost and the rest came out of the savings. When the savings was exhausted, the medical aid covered the full amount.
This was later changed to full payment of the medical costs from the savings and when the savings are exhausted, you carry the full cost or a partial cost depending on the type of treatment required.
This means that for a significant amount of the time, the subscriber is paying for all his medical cost and there is little or no medical "aid". The medical aid has turned into a glorified savings account where a portion of the premium is being "reserved" and a portion is being allocated for "savings".
Would it not be interesting if someone could work out the numbers to determine exactly how much does it really cost for "medical aid"?
