4 minute read
BONITAS MEDICAL FUND
FOUR DECADES OF QUALITY HEALTHCARE
Living a healthy lifestyle and having access to quality healthcare, has become a priority for South Africans. However, to achieve this, you need to have the right support: Financially, mentally and physically. This is where making the right choice of you and your family’s healthcare cover, is so important.
Bonitas Medical Fund – with a footprint in all provinces in South Africa - has been providing access to affordable, quality healthcare to South African corporates and families for over four decades.
“As the ‘Medical Aid for South Africa’, we have a wide and diverse membership drawn from all walks of life. Our members are entrepreneurs, SMMEs, Chief Executive Officers, newlyweds, young couples with children, retirees and minimum wage earners. In a nutshell: South Africans seeking quality healthcare at an affordable price,” says Lee Callakoppen, Principal Officer of Bonitas.
Introducing the Benefit Booster
This is why Bonitas introduced the Benefit Booster in 2022 – the most innovative change in the healthcare industry since the advent of the savings account. It stretches value and equates to an increase in day-today benefits, giving members access to additional funds to use for out-ofhospital expenses at no extra cost.
“With members at the core of our business, we strive to keep abreast of their healthcare needs through extensive research and data analytics, which includes all stakeholders but specifically members, employers and healthcare providers.
“This research helps guide us in terms of how we adjust and balance the benefit enhancements and plan options to ensure we provide value to our members, while still ensuring that contributions remain affordable. There are a number of factors we feel set us apart, one is us having a member-centric approach to everything we do.”
What is the Benefit Booster
“Essentially it is an extra out-ofhospital benefit, in addition to dayto-day benefits or savings,” explains Callakoppen. Once activated, it covers out-of-hospital claims including GP visits, acute and over-the-counter medicine, blood tests, X-rays and non-surgical procedures such as wart removal.
Members simply need to complete a wellness questionnaire, which can be done online, or a wellness screening – which can be done at a participating pharmacy or a Bonitas wellness day – to tap into the Benefit Booster, which provides access of up to R5 000 in additional funds. Claims will be paid from this benefit first, making a member’s savings and dayto-day benefits last longer.
Value add benefits
“There has been an intensified drive to detect, prevent and manage various chronic conditions as well as vaccinate against potential diseases and conditions," says Callakoppen. "We encourage members to make use of the free wellness screenings and tests on offer and this is one of the reasons we introduced the Be Better Benefit this year.”
The unique ‘Be Better Benefit’ is funded completely from risk and provides a range of screening tests including an annual wellness screening, per beneficiary, to check blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI and cholesterol. Other benefits include Flu vaccines, HIV tests, lipograms, mammograms, prostate screening, pap smears, pneumococcal vaccines, whooping cough boosters, HPV vaccines, stool tests for colon cancer, dental fissure sealants, online hearing screenings and contraceptives.
This benefit ensures members have access to the necessary preventative screenings to allow for early detection of disease and to be put on the path to wellness. It is available on all options, except BonCap.
Managed care
The prevalence of NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs) has been increasing year-on-year, so have mental health issues, which is a risk factor for NCDs and vice versa.
“At Bonitas we offer support for NCDs through a range of Care programmes including audiology, HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, mental health, back and neck, hip and knee replacements as well as hospital-at-home."
Callakoppen says the future for the Scheme remains as: Quality healthcare for members, affordability of contributions and the financial sustainability of the Scheme. "Our members remain the heart of our interactions and we actively strive to find ways to amplify value and drive business development.
“Our focus on care, capability and reliability, encompasses not only providing our members with the tools and preventative measures to guard against chronic conditions but to help us redefine healthcare for a new world.
"This includes helping members get value for money by stretching their benefits and managing their medical expenses. It’s a win-win for both their health and their pockets."
