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2.2 Market share
2.2
Market share
The industry’s net decline of 18 375 members over the 2020 financial year was driven by the decrease in Discovery Health Medical Scheme membership, which shrunk by 18 483 principal members. GEMS partially offset this decrease by experiencing an 11 175 growth of principal members.
Discovery’s total market share, based on the number of principal members, has increased from 16% in 2001 to 33% at the end of 2020, compared with a decrease in market share for the rest of the open schemes from 54% in 2001 to 25% in 2020.
This decline in open medical scheme membership (excluding Discovery) is due to:
many members choosing to move from their current medical scheme to Discovery
qualifying public sector employees moving from open schemes to GEMS since its inception In 2020, GEMS’ total market share was 19%, compared with 2% in 2006 when the first members joined. The rapid growth in membership includes:
qualifying government employees transferring from other open schemes
the amalgamation with Medcor in 2010
the transfer of a group of 16 000 pensioners from Medihelp to GEMS early in 2012
Continued new member growth, stimulated by an attractive employer subsidy, has increased the market share of GEMS in the past. However, the employer subsidy was not increased for several years from 2011, which may have contributed to the slowdown in membership growth.
It is likely that the increases in the public sector subsidy announced since 1 January 2016 have contributed towards the growth in lives covered on GEMS during the year. The total market share of the balance of the restricted schemes has decreased from 30% to 23%, driven by a number of amalgamations of restricted schemes into the open medical scheme environment.
Market share by principal membership
GEMS
2012: Pre-92 Medihelp pensioners 2010: Medcor
19%
16% 2020
2% 2011
2006
2001
16% 33%
29%
27% Discovery
2018: WitsMed 2014: Altron, Afrox, PG Bison 2013: Nampak, IBM 2012: Edcon 2010: Afrisam, Umed 2004: AngloGold
23% 25% 28% 30%
54%
43%
30%
25%
All restricted medical schemes
(excluding GEMS)
2001 to 2020
All open medical schemes
