Health insurance in South Africa: a guide for expats | Expatica

Surprisingly, the insurance industry is one of the most growing industries in South Africa. And due to this factor, there are a large number of insurance companies popping out from every corner of the country, making it affordable for people to opt for these services. Not only do insurance companies start appearing all the time in this country, but there are many other businesses that have entered this bandwagon to provide insurance services, including major food chains. But in this guide, we will specifically talk about health insurance in South Africa. Plus, what are the latest trends and states going on at this moment?

There are a large number of populations in this specific country that are underprivileged, or you can say that they fall into the category of a low-income bracket with the least percentage of the population. The majority of the population falls in the middle to higher income brackets. Therefore, the maximum number of people is relying on the public health care system. And this system has now been over-used, or you can say that it is under-financed.

And due to the lack of funding and insufficient services, there are millions of middle to higher income earners that have now needed to take the services of private health insurance from private agencies. Due to this, there is a massive increase seen in the companies providing private health care systems, and more and more people are using these services and getting to rely on them. Research shows that a total of 18 per cent of the population has relied on these private medical health aid schemes.

South African people are facing major challenges in this specific industry of the health care sector for the past few decades as there is a great change seen in the medical costs. In its result, the insurance providers and insurance companies needed to get crafty and limited by making insurance schemes that could be budget-friendly and less costly for the general public. Medical air schemes and plans have also been on the boost along with significant health insurers.

As mentioned earlier, there are several health insurers that normally offer medical insurance and aid schemes in this country, so it is quite essential for you to look around and then shop that best suits your needs. There is no point in shopping for a scheme that will be inappropriate for you; therefore, you must consider several options first and then choose the one that matches best with your needs.

It is also necessary for you to read all the fine prints first because there are hundreds of health insurance providers available in the country that will do anything that is possible for them to not have to settle a claim. This country also seems to have an increase in interest from different outsider insurance companies that offer them normal coverage for all as well as for some special policies for emigrants.

Moreover, these special yet uniquely designed policies include transporting the dead bodies through aeroplanes back to their home countries. And the cost of international insurance also includes a lot of other things that depend on the type of coverage along with the insurance age.

In this country, it is true that the future of the healthcare system is still uncertain. The government of this country has introduced new National health insurance that will offer free medical care and medical aid schemes for all. But still, there are some sceptics who say that the proposed national health insurance scheme will likely fail. Although the government has implemented this scheme and in its starting years, it has got a lot of success.

However, this country seems to have a long way to go before the industries of health insurance and health as a whole get balanced to provide optimal advantage to all those who are in need of health care. And if the sceptics are right, then the possibility is that the health insurance in South Africa will grow in the near future