SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s largest health insurer Discovery Limited has relaunched its private health cover at an ultra-low-cost to make healthcare affordable to more people especially low-income clients.
The health cover known as Flexicare product will offer primary care for about R350 (US$23) compared to the prior price of R1050 (US$69) to allow customers access to a network of doctors, emergency procedures and treatment for chronic conditions.
Discovery Limited is a financial services organization that was founded in 1992 to operate in healthcare, life assurance, short-term insurance, savings and investments, banking along with wellness markets.
Discovery’s decision to sell private health cover at about a third of the price of its prior entry-level product comes at the right time amid the COVID-19 pandemic to attract new customers and tap into pandemic-heightened concerns about health.
“We’ve never seen efficiency in healthcare but COVID-19 has spurred changes in health sectors where for the first-time healthcare is being delivered potentially digitally,” Discovery Chief Executive Officer Adrian Gore noted.
Adrian Gore further explained that as COVID-19 hit, Discovery saw the correlations of the same risk factors such as diabetes and high body mass index driving higher levels of severe disease and death which prompted their latest move.
“Buyers of the Flexicare product administered by Discovery will also get access to wellness and screening programs since more people have become aware of the health concerns during Covid-19,” Gore said.
In addition, the affordable South African insurance will address the shortage of doctors and dilapidated facilities in the public health system which is heavily relied on by at least 72% of the nation’s 60 million people.
The new cover will also cater to the 8 million uninsured people who need access to private healthcare due to delayed enactment of the country’s universal national health insurance known as NHI.
Meanwhile, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited and digital bank Tyme recently launched health insurance in South Africa to tap into a wider and under-served segment of the population.
Dis-Chem’s product Dis-Chem Health starts at R431(US$29) a month while TymeBank’S medical insurance TymeHealth costs R139 (US$9) depending on what exactly a person gets covered.
The companies offer members non-life insurance cover for the cost of day-to-day healthcare needs, certain accidents and medical emergency illness events which is a good option for those who cannot afford medical aid membership.
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