Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS), South Africa's largest medical aid has revealed its contribution hikes for 2025, with the highest increase affecting their top-tier plans.
Across the various plans, contributions will increase between 7.4% and 10.9%
From January, members on the Executive, Classic Comprehensive, and Classic Smart Comprehensive plans will face an 11% rise in monthly contributions.
Coastal plans, including Coastal Saver and Coastal Core, are close behind with a 10.9% increase. For a main member on the Executive plan, the cost will jump from R10,303 to R11,430 per month.
Meanwhile, other plans will see more moderate increases. Core and Priority plans are set for a 10% rise, while the widely popular Saver plans will go up by 8.4%.
The lowest increase is reserved for the Smart plans, which will only rise by 7.4%. These Smart plans, introduced in 2016, were designed to offer affordable medical scheme options for tech-savvy, cost-conscious consumers. Since their launch, over 200,000 members have joined these plans.
Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) has also announced that it will be expanding its Smart Series to include a new plan. The Active Smart option which is aimed and targeted to young professionals.
They mentioned that the factors leading to the increases are:
The increases in pricing of healthcare services;
Increases in the demand for healthcare services due to gradually ageing members;
Increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses and high cost claimants;
The increases in supply of healthcare services through medicine, new medical advancements and procedures.
For more in depth information on the increases on each option, click here.
As we near the end of 2024, Medical Aid option changes should be considered during November and Decembers for the new year. Remember that the medical aid year runs from 1 January to the end of December.
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