Close Menu
Money 101
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Wealth Creation

Newsletter

Get the financial tips, offers and more

What's Hot

Critical Questions About Funeral Cover

September 19, 2024

Mortality Benefits

September 19, 2024

How do You choose a Medical Plan?

October 2, 2023

3 increases in medical rates in 17 months = 27%!

Sponsor: Ubuntu CapitalUbuntu CapitalOctober 2, 2023
Friday, June 13
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Money 101
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Wealth Creation
Money 101
Home»Biz News»To Downgrade or not to Downgrade Your Medical Aid
Biz News

To Downgrade or not to Downgrade Your Medical Aid

EditorBy EditorApril 29, 2014Updated:February 19, 2018No Comments2 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp VKontakte Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

These days, it seems like all of us are talking about the high cost of living, and comparing notes on ways to save our hard-earned money.  I have personally been dealing with many clients who want to cut down on their medical aid costs, and come to me for advice. Unfortunately, the advice I can give my clients is often not what they want to hear – to downgrade your medical aid to pay less on your monthly contribution means that you will be sacrificing benefits you had on a higher plan.

In some cases, downgrading is the right choice, but you need to research the options you are looking at carefully, before making a decision. Your financial advisor is the best person to explain the difference in benefits if you are looking at ways to save money.  For example, a single person who is young and healthy, can easily downgrade to a plan that covers hospitalisation only – and cover the occasional doctor’s visit or dental check-up out of their own pocket.

But a family with small children who visit healthcare providers on a regular basis, or someone with chronic conditions, need to be on a more comprehensive plan if they don’t want to end up in a situation where their health suffers because they cannot afford to pay for a doctor’s visit out of their pocket.  The decision to try to save money on a medical aid should not be taken lightly – it could end up being the biggest mistake you make as you may be compromising you or your family’s health.

A good idea when considering downgrading is to request a claims history for at least the past three years from your medical scheme – you can then have a look at where you spent the most, and also have an idea of whether these expenses happened only occasionally, or whether it is a regular expense.

Then ask your financial advisor to take your claims history into consideration when doing a Needs Analysis for you.  In conjunction with your advisor, you can then look at different options and decide whether cost-cutting on your medical aid expenses would be viable for you, or would pose too much of a risk in the long run.

 

medical aid
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Previous ArticleKeeping Romance Alive on the Cheap
Next Article Tips for Small Business Success
Editor

Related Posts

Critical Questions About Funeral Cover

September 19, 2024

Mortality Benefits

September 19, 2024

Razer Partners with Clearbot to Clean Oceans the Smart Way

June 8, 2021

Retirement Annuities Explained

June 7, 2021
Our Picks

Who may and how do you apply for business rescue?

May 31, 2021

Momentum Health Increases 2022

October 28, 2021

Retirement Annuities Explained

June 7, 2021

How to apply for a social grant

May 31, 2021

Subscribe to Updates

Get the financial tips, offers and more

Don't Miss
About Us
About Us

Money 101 is your source of Personal, Financial, Business and Lifestyle educational articles which is brought to you by Adarna.

Visit Adarna: Adarna.co.za
Privacy Policy: Click to View

Our Picks

Retirement Annuities Explained

June 7, 2021

How to apply for a social grant

May 31, 2021

Momentum Health Increases 2022

October 28, 2021
© 2025 Brought to you by Adarna.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.