Consumer Affairs – Glenda Thompson April 8 2016

World Health Day falls on April 7.

Health is something that most of us don’t think about until we get sick. It’s only then that we start asking the question: “Why has this happened to me?” We don’t take into consideration the pressure we have put on our bodies, what with smoking, overloading on carbs (particularly sweet stuff), watching rather than playing sport and not exercising regularly.

As individuals, we need to take a lot more responsibility for our health, for our own sakes and for the sake of our families, so we don’t end up in a life threatening situation because we have failed to heed warning signs from our bodies. It’s usually only when we get sick that we appreciate having a medical aid scheme to turn to.

Medical aid has become one of those annoying Must Have’s in our lives. We know we need it, but resent paying for it, and most of us are not making it work for us. I know this because I have spent the last few weeks doing a survey on this. Most people I spoke to were totally ignorant of what their medical aid offers them.

I called on the services of an independent medical aid consultant, Jill Douglas from JKD Financial Services to find out more about my own medical aid scheme and how I can make the most of what I feel is a rather exorbitant fee I am forking out every month.

I used mine as an example, because it is the basic Custom Option, that most people that I spoke to have chosen. It provides cover for hospitalisation at private hospitals as well as a range of day-to-day benefits, such as preventative screening tests, certain check-ups and more.

The first thing that Jill suggested I do was to download the App onto my phone. In my case it was the Momentum App. A helpful time saver on this App is the: Find Nearest Health Care Provider option which lists pharmacists, doctors, dentists and specialists who work with Momentum. It also has authorisation, claims, statements, health returns and your card details on it.

Take the time to read the fine print on your medical aid document. Failing this you won’t have a clue as to what benefits you should be getting from your basic medical aid scheme.

In a nutshell, this is what you should expect to get for free: an annual health assessment, dental consultation, pap smear, mammogram, general physical, prostate check as well as cholestrol, blood sugar and glaucoma tests. Also included would be HIV test, baby immunisation, flu vaccines, tetanus and diphtheria jab, neumococcal vaccine, ante natal visits, diabetes, hypertension, oncology, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, emergency evacuation in SA and internationally and international emergency cover.

The last one was a huge eye opener for me as I usually take out a separate insurance when I travel. I have wasted a lot of money by simply not taking the time to read the fine print!