# Cost of private health insurance



## Gwnortth (Jan 2, 2017)

I'd like to get an idea of the cost of private health insurance for a family of 4(2 adults and 2 children-5 and 7). We are all in great health.Costs of cheaper plans to the most expensive. Any info would be greatly appreciated


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## chris_mave (Jun 24, 2016)

look at momentum health or discover health they are the good ones


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## Gwnortth (Jan 2, 2017)

What I'm hoping for is some basic numbers from people who have private insurance


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## chris_mave (Jun 24, 2016)

Gwnortth said:


> What I'm hoping for is some basic numbers from people who have private insurance


Everything depends on what you are looking for hospital plans or day to day etc. Lots of options hence the reason why i said look at those 2 options

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk


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## Oyibopeppeh (Sep 8, 2010)

Gwnortth said:


> What I'm hoping for is some basic numbers from people who have private insurance



I have a fairly basic Essential Delta Core plan from Discovery.

The premium for myself and daughter is around R2,600 per month.

I'm over 35 and my premium attracts an additional 50%


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## pb41 (Jan 29, 2017)

*Discovery Health*

I am paying just under R9000 per month just for my wife and I on the Discovery Health Classic Comprehensive scheme. Although this is a fairly upper level plan, medical aid generally is very expensive in SA and premiums routinely escalate far above the annual inflation rate e.g. 10 to 12 per cent each year compared to CPI of around 6 per cent.


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## Gwnortth (Jan 2, 2017)

Thanks for the great info!


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## Bookishly (Jan 17, 2017)

I did some research on this a while back. I was looking specifically for cheaper plans as my husband and I are on a tight budget.

I figured the important difference to keep in mind is medical insurance vs. medical aid schemes. Medical aid covers everything by mandate so it's way more expensive, but in case of emergencies, it gives you peace of mind. Medical insurance works more on the probability game, offers limited coverage in case of hospitalization, has to be claimed post-incidence (as opposed to the amount being paid out directly by your plan to the healthcare provider, as happens in the case of medical aid), and has a limited network of GPs for day to day care/consultation. Also, medical insurance as well as the cheaper health plans pay only up to a specified "health rate" for various procedures, which, as I understand, often falls short of the actual rates charged by medical practitioners/hospitals.

As you're looking for numbers, I'll share some from my research. 

- The cheapest Discovery plans are the Key Care series (limited, not comprehensive plans). They start from ~R1400 for the principal member, plus R1400 per additional person and ~R400 per additional child. There are plans cheaper than this but they are only for incomes less than R11000 or so. They have plans going up to R4000 or more per person. You can see the prices of all their plans if you search for "business tech discovery 2017" (I can't share the link here, as I'm new to the forum). 

- Momentum's plans should start from about R4500 per month for a family of two adults, two kids (Ingwe option).

- International providers like AXA PPP, BUPA and Cigna International have health plans ranging from USD 120-180 per month per person, with unlimited or very high coverage (up to USD 1M). They could have a lower consolidated premium for families. These quotes, by the way, are for a 29 year old in good health, no pre-existing conditions.

- Two of the cheapest medical insurance (not aid) companies seem to be GetSavvi and OnePlan. GetSavvi Primary Care+ is listed at only R640 per family (don't know if that's for 2 adults, 2 kids), and OnePlan for your family size should range from R1000 to R2500 per month, depending on the plan. I wasn't able to find robust reviews for these two insurance providers, so I don't know how great they are.

- Finally, for international students (don't know if that's applicable to you), Momentum's Student Health seems to be very popular. It's only R335 a month per person (same premium for additional dependents), but has coverage up to R1.2 million on a fairly big network of private healthcare providers.

Hope this helps!


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