Although most women living in urban areas may opt for a hospital setting with a gynecologist and obstetrician overlooking the delivery, there is a growing trend among mothers to give birth at home or opt for a water birth and use the services of a midwife. It was a common practice in the past and is once again favoured by some mothers who wish to be in familiar surroundings, with the support of family and friends at hand. However, one has to consider the financial implications of having a home birth or delivery by a midwife. It really depends on what type of hospital cover you are looking at – medical aids pay for a midwife and homebirth but a hospital cash back plan does not cover home births.
Best Hospital Plan is a Medical Aid
If you have been searching for the best hospital plan in South Africa, you need to realise that there is no cover better than a medical aid. The term hospital plan can refer to either a medical aid without the day-to-day benefits or an insurance policy that pays you cash when you are hospitalised. Although these are two different products, many consumers are confused as to which is the best option. Medical aid cannot be replaced. Even private medical insurance in most countries in the world do not have the offerings of medical aid. South Africans need to realise that if they want protection for the exorbitant private healthcare costs then medical aid is the best way to go.
Hospital Cash Back Plan
A popular type of insurance among South Africans, that is often confused with the medical aid hospital plan only, is the cash back plan. It protects a person against the financial implications of being in hospital by paying out cash for each day in hospital. These cash back plans are not medical aids. It was not intended to replace a medical aid and there should be no choice between either a medical aid or cash back plan. Both financial products are different and the hospital cash back plan is essentially the predecessor of the medical aid cover that we know of today. However, this should not detract from the fact that the hospital cash back plan is a helpful form of cover when you need it most – lying incapacitated in a hospital with the personal bills piling up.
Immediate Cover Hospital Plan with No Waiting Period
In this day and age of consumerism, we expect everything to happen at the click of a button and the moment we pay for it. However, the insurance industry does not work like this. Whether you are taking on a medical aid or a cash back policy, the reality is that immediate cover on a hospital plan does not exist. Do not be fooled by false promises as some unethical brokers may advise differently. There are specific waiting periods both for a medical aid and cash back plan that is in place to protect you and other members of the scheme or clients of the insurance industry. It is important to understand how these waiting periods work and what exactly they mean.
Hospital Plan for Pregnancy and Already Pregnant Women
Pregnancy is a special time in every woman’s life. While there is often some degree of worry about the upcoming delivery but excitement about the new member in the family, there are many considerations that a pregnant woman has to bear in mind. Probably the most important of these is financial protection. Hospital plans are not affordable for every South African but can make a massive difference in easing the financial stress and accessing quality medical care. Women should ideally have a hospital cover before falling pregnant – both a medical aid, either full cover or hospital plan only, and a hospital cash plan. These are different products and one cannot replace the other. However, this is not always possible or affordable and it is then important to carefully consider your individual needs.
Medical Aid Hospital Plan Only
Medical aids have different plans to suit the range of needs and affordability of its membership. The plans can be broadly divided into full medical aid which has both out-of-hospital and in-hospital benefits, or a hospital plan only. The latter is often cheaper and has become a preferred option among South Africans. With hospitalisation costs being exorbitant in South Africa, a medical aid hospital plan only provides cover for the more expensive medical bills. These hospital plans also have a chronic medicine benefit which covers the cost of treatment for chronic diseases. However, the day-to-day benefits are not available on a medical aid hospital plan only and patients will have to settle these bills in cash.
What is a hospital plan in South Africa?
The term ‘hospital plan’ is often confusing for most South Africans. There is talk about medical aids and insurance companies, getting cash for being in hospital and a host of jargon that flies above the head of most consumers. However, it is not all that confusing when you know the basics. A hospital plan usually refers to a type of medical aid plan or a type of insurance policy with cash payouts. In fact the financial products should more appropriately be referred to as a medical aid hospital plan or a hospital cash plan.