Article provided by Medshield Medical Scheme
If you are looking for low-cost, quality hospital plans, it is best to compare hospital plans from various medical schemes.
A hospital plan is different from a comprehensive medical aid plan, as it only covers the procedures and care during hospitalisation. This means that if you are looking for day-to-day benefits, you will not find it in a hospital plan. However, this does not mean that hospital plans are not for people who take medication daily. Hospital plans cover emergency treatments, invasive medical procedures, tests in hospital, and long-term hospitalisation.
If you want to find affordable cover through comparison, it is vital to understand the product. A cheaper plan may not always cover what you need. Therefore, make sure you are in good health before opting for a plan just because it is inexpensive.
The hospital plan offers full cover during hospitalisation. The cover will include your overnight expenses, surgeries, emergency procedures, and any tests that may be required. A list of various specialists and facilities will be provided. These are the providers that is part of the medical scheme’s network of service providers. Please bear in mind that you may have to pay the shortfall of choosing a provider outside of the medical scheme’s designated network of service providers and a co-payment might apply. .
If you are hospitalised these options cover most of the big expenses fully, but several of the treatments have upper cover limits. You can get an additional gap cover that pays the gap between the medical aid cover and the rate the healthcare professional charges. Some medical schemes pay 100% and the healthcare provider charges 150% or more. The gap cover will then cover the shortfall after the medical scheme has settled the 100%.
A hospital plan provides basic cover for hospital treatments, but some medical scheme providers includes additional benefits. The only disadvantage of this plan is that it restricts which specialists and facilities you may use. You are however able to view the service providers before signing up. The most important aspect to look at when doing a hospital plans comparison is to make sure that the medical scheme you decide to join has the funds to pay out. This will lead you to comparing different schemes’ solvency ratios.
The last point on your comparison list should be to check ratings and comments from other clients. This will give perspective on how trustworthy the scheme is.
Accidents happen daily and to anyone, without warning. Do not wait until it is too late to get help. Start comparing, and sign up for a hospital plan from a reputable and stable medical aid scheme.
Medshield Medical Scheme is a proud Partner of the NSBC