Priciest Discovery Health plans still losing members
But two keep growing in double digits … By Moneyweb 23 May 2022 00:02 DISCOVERYR138.39-0.35%5/20/2022, 5:00:50 PM The six top-end medical aid plans offered by Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) continue to lose members, with a 5% decline between the end of 2020...
What is pre-authorisation?
Before you have any medical procedure or hospital admission, you do need to get authorisation. This will help you establish exactly what is covered and whether you need to plan for any out-of-pocket expenses. The pre-authorisation process also ensures that our...
Mandatory Covid vaccinations for workers in South Africa – are they still allowed?
With the national state of disaster now behind us, employers who have implemented vaccination requirements at their workplaces may find their policies challenged by employees, on the basis that they are no longer legally permissible. This is considering the fact that...
‘Taxed to poverty and death’: News24 readers react to proposed NHI funding
The national Department of Health has tabled proposals on how the National Health Insurance (NHI) will be funded. Surcharges on personal income tax, payroll tax, and reallocating funding for medical scheme tax credits are some of the proposals that have been...
Discovery sends medical aid warning to South Africa
Staff Writer 4 days ago The proposed National Health Insurance scheme (NHI) will create significant risk as it limits the cover offered by medical aids, says medical scheme Discovery. The NHI Bill is currently undergoing a public consultation process, with a number of...
What is sleep apnea?
Do you wake up exhausted? Does your partner complain about your snoring? You may be one of up to 6% of people who suffer from sleep apnea – in obese people that number is 77% – and you may not know you have it. Get more information on our website dedicated to sleep...
Medical Schemes Act: The medical aid penalty that ignores unforeseen circumstances
By Ruan Jooste• 6 January 2021 (Photo: Rawpixel) Just like retirement reform regulations, the Medical Schemes Act pays more attention to actuarial models than human behaviour or unforeseen circumstances. And surely human behaviour is the point of insurance. One of...
Best and worst major medical aids in South Africa
Consulta has published its latest South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) for the local medical aid industry, showing which of the largest medical schemes are keeping their customers happy. The global Covid-19 pandemic which hit in 2020 thrust medical care...
The role of Vitamin C in fighting COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 is slightly more communicable than the common flu and less communicable than the most highly infectious viruses, like measles. Vitamin C levels in white blood cells (immune cells) are ten times higher than in plasma, which indicates functional role of the...
NHI Bill is not what the ICU doctor ordered
By Mark Heywood• 16 August 2019 Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Media24) 316 Reactions Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize appears surprisingly calm for a politician at the centre of a tsunami. That can mean one of two things: either he...
The fatal flaws of NHI
While the government is eager to show it is doing something about the country’s health-care crisis, the practicalities of its proposed plan for National Health Insurance remain murky 15 AUGUST 2019 – 05:00 TAMAR KAHN Picture: FINANCIAL MAIL/JACKIE CLAUSEN Does the...
The role of private hospitals and doctors under the new NHI
Staff Writer14 August 2019 Top of Form Subscribe Bottom of Form Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says that the private sector will still have a role to play under the incoming National Health Insurance (NHI). In a statement published on Wednesday (14 August),...
6 things that every South African should know about the NHI – according to a legal expert
Staff Writer15 August 2019 Top of Form Subscribe Bottom of Form On 8 August 2019, minister of health Zweli Mkhize introduced the National Health Insurance bill in the National Assembly. The bill promises universal health coverage to every South Africa, and details how...
Making sense of the NHI and your future medical costs – money expert Dawn Ridler
15th August 2019 by Jackie Cameron South Africa’s state hospitals can be scary, inefficient, unsafe places. I know. I once gave up on being treated for an allergy-related breathing attack, such was the length of the queue at the Cape Town hospital nearest to where the...
How ADHD meds might alter boys’ brains
Dutch researchers found that, among boys with ADHD, taking medication increased their brains’ white matter. Procrastinating genius: did da Vinci have attention disorder? Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci’s litany of exquisite but unfinished work shows he probably...
This is how much money South Africa will spend this year on National Health Insurance preparation, VIP protection, scrapping old taxis, and food safety
Phillip de Wet , Business Insider SA Aug 13, 2019, 05:49 PM The 2019 Appropriations Act is out, divvying up in detail some R900 billion in government spending after a long budget process. Preparations for the National Health Insurance scheme has been allocated R2.1...
Do you sweat excessively? Did you know there’s medical treatment for that?
Some people sweat excessively for years without realising it’s a medical condition and that something can be done about it. Meet the woman who sweats 10 times more than average Meet the student from Houston, Texas, who has a severe form of hyperhidrosis, a disorder...
How you will be paying for the NHI, and what happens to your medical aid – everything you need to know
Staff Writer8 August 2019 Top of Form Subscribe Bottom of Form The Department of Health has published its revised National Health Insurance Bill, promising to bring universal health coverage to every South African. Since being mooted, the NHI has faced constant...
National health insurance a step closer as Cabinet approves Bill
2019-07-11 14:00Jan GerberMinister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu briefs the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting. (Supplied, Twitter) ANC, DA still at odds over National Health InsuranceNHI is fundamentally about social justice – RamaphosaNHI:...
Many e-cigarettes loaded with germs – study
In a study, nicotine was not all that was found in the vapour of many electronic cigarettes… they also contained bacterial toxins and fungal elements. San Francisco closer to banning e-cigarette sales San Francisco supervisors have voted unanimously to move the city...
Can allergies cause coughing – or is it just a cold?
Important question: Is it phlegmy or dry? Whooping Cough (Pertussis) This is an infection of the lining of your airways. It is highly contagious. It is most common in young children who have not been fully vaccinated and in people who have not received booster shots....
The ABC of medical aids
Monday | 24 June | 2019By Emsie Martin As long as one is relatively healthy and only see a doctor now and then about a cold or flu, you can still pay for the visits out of your pocket. Medical emergencies and the treatment of some chronic illnesses, however, could...
Discovery Health saw 8,500 new cancer cases last year – and the cost of treatment is up 100% since 2011
Jay Caboz , Business Insider SAJun 21, 2019, 09:48 AM Over that same time the cost of oncology-related treatment has increased by over 100%.671,016 members made claims for hospital treatment last year, with an average cost of R43,057 per admission.The scheme grew by...
5 conditions that could be mistaken for ADHD
Many medical professionals are too quick to diagnose ADHD in children, failing to take into account other possible causes of their symptoms. High energy levels could be mistaken for ADHD. (iStock) ~ South Africa has one of the highest rates of prescribing medication...