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I was hoping to write an e-book on this subject because it can be so detailed and is largely controversial yet a lot of people have been ripped off their hard earned cash on medical aid. I managed to save more than R 12, 000 from my medical aid subscriptions in 2009 just by twisting a little bit of some knobs with the service provider. You can copy exactly what I did and get away so easy from the extra ordinary costs that go into medical schemes.

Being an economist and an entreprenuer, I found this good for those that want to save a few Rands from their medical aid.

Below are tips to following my two year money saving proven method;

  1. You must know your health condition well i.e. you allergies, incurable diseases, etc. For example, I know I have hiatus hernia and that over the counter medication cannot help but continue to increase the bill. I know my dependants are somewhat asthmatic and from time to time I have to see a doctor.
  2. Know the doctor that will sort your problem at once. Believe me; some doctors do trial and error at the expense of patients’ lives.  Avoid those and work at identifying your best. Your friend’s best could not be your best. It simply could mean travelling a longer distance but avoiding costly repeated visits that consume your consultation allocation. It took me at least two years to know the exact doctor for my son’s asthmatic symptoms.
  3. Study the benefit packages and chose the one that suits your specific medical needs for the year. For example, if you don’t have problems with your eyes, you may eliminate a package that will increase your subscription because of eye care. Even if you do have such a problem, you may choose to work cater for your eye care needs on cash basis, that is, if it saves you some money.
  4. Use cheaper alternatives on your medication. This point actually builds up from the first ‘knowing your health condition’. When you know yourself well, you will know the exact medication that will help you get well. My cheaper option is going to the pharmacy. The pharmacy won’t charge you any consultation but only the medication that you pick. Sometimes I use the government hospital that has all equipment necessary for any medical need, and their fares beat the rest.
  5. Make an assessment of the severity of the sickness that attacks you so that you can choose the best option. Don’t be tempted for a pharmacy if the sickness that attacks seems more or different from what you know. You definitely must make means to see a qualified medical practitioner.
  6. Keep all your bills settled on cash. You may have it handy for a refund towards the end of the cover period. I used my credit card in May last year in Durban and kept all necessary receipts and invoices to make a claim if something remains from the allocation. I recently claimed on last years’ allocation and today enjoy the returning medical cost that went into my credit card.
  7. Keep an eye on the statements and your allocations. When deductions near your limit, it could mean that you must supplement your medical needs with some cash but keep your receipts in a safe place so that you can effect point six above if you qualify.
  8. Never allow intimidation from colleagues or anybody on the risks involved in opting for a lower benefit. Just understand that not all healthy people today are covered on medical aid. You can live without it anyway. It depends on what you believe in.

 

Needless to say that you may miscalculate and make even more losses, but chances for loss are very slim. The greatest of all health remedies is believing in God given health and have a positive attitude towards life.

Read the next article on the journey I took in practice to make this huge savings.

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