An accident in South Africa can cost a patient between R50 000 and R200 000. According to research, medical treatment in South Africa is the most expensive in the world. Considering this, and the fact that public hospitals can be a nightmare, it is worthwhile to think about buying medical insurance. But it turns out that that too can sometimes be a gamble.

Health insurance is very similar to other types of insurance. In other words, the insured pay a monthly premium that is agreed upon by the insurance company or medical scheme and the member. In exchange, the member can expect top be financially covered in the event of a medical emergency. When this occurs, the medical aid will pay a sum of money to the client for the medical services he or she received.

Now it can happen that the insured fall ill a month after buying medical insurance. His treatment costs R75 000 and is covered by the medical aid scheme. His contribution up to this point was only R800. In other words, he received R74 200 worth of medical care for free.

Another person bought health insurance twenty-five years ago. During this period he has never been to hospital and never suffered from great injuries or illnesses. He paid almost R300 000 to the medical aid, but has very little to show for his money.

Medical insurance, like any other insurance, comes down to a gamble. Either you win big or you loose big. But it is worth taking the risk.

The government established a body to protect the interest of members of medical schemes. Members can file complaints with this body, but only after they followed their medial aid's internal complaints system.

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