Wow! Last year our introduction to the review of medical schemes was “Make 2020 the best and healthiest year yet”.  Who could have foreseen the health, medical and financial challenges we would face during 2020!

We certainly have learned that a medical aid plan is not only about the general benefits a plan can offer at the lowest premium. Your financial planner would have advised and helped you to analyse your family’s need for medical aid benefits, helping you find the best plan, as well as helping you find sufficient GAP cover within a sustainable medical aid during this challenging time.

And now here we are again: It’s time to choose our medical aid and GAP cover plans for 2021.

Contributing to medical aid and GAP cover has become an integral part of personal risk management and your Origin Health adviser offers independent advice on a wide range of medical schemes, GAP cover and wellness programmes and their benefit options.

A few aspects to keep in mind:

• Remember, changing from one medical aid to another may leave you without cover for certain conditions for a limited period of time. A general waiting period may also apply when joining a new medical scheme.
• When joining a medical aid after the age of 35 you could be exposed to Late-Joiner Penalties. This is a loading of your medical scheme premium that you will have to carry for the future duration of any membership.
• Certain GAP cover providers have the concession to waive certain waiting periods when joining before the end of December 2020.
• Most medical schemes have announced very low or no increases for 2021!

Your Origin Health planner will help you choose the most suitable medical plan and GAP cover benefits for your circumstances. But time is running out to choose your plan for 2021, so the sooner you contact us, the better. The dates by which you have to inform your medical scheme of your plan choice for 2021 are as follows:

• Discovery Health: 15 December 2020 (please confirm with your adviser by 9 December)
• Momentum Health: 30 November 2020 (please confirm with your adviser by 20 November)
• Profmed: 30 November 2020 (please confirm with your adviser by 20 November)
• Fedhealth: 30 November 2020 (please confirm with your adviser by 20 November)
• Stratum GAP cover: 31 December (please confirm with your adviser by 14 December)
• Ambledown GAP cover: Changes can be made from 16 November

Please contact your Origin Health planner as soon as possible, should you wish to discuss your options and plans for 2021.

Let’s make the best of what 2021 has to offer!