Medical aid and millennials

Would you believe that the eldest of the millennials is closing in on the age 40?

Millennials make up a decent portion of the workforce, but few have medical aid.

Millennials may question the need to have medical aid. They consider themselves to be healthy. They lead active lives.

After paying rent, utilities, transportation, food, and the occasional night out, millennials are not left with much breathing room in their bank account to put money aside for medical aid.

So why should this young, healthy, and cash-strapped generation stretch their budget even further?

Millennials are seeing their health decline faster than previous generations.

This extends to both physical health conditions, such as hypertension and cholesterol, and behavioural health conditions, such as major depression.

The pressure on individuals and families due to increased medical costs can be devastating. Especially for those unprepared.

There are important aspects to be considered when choosing medical aid, from the type of plan that best suits your pocket to which medical services you want to be covered for.

These services could include medicine, doctor consultations, cover for chronic conditions, hospital cover, optometry, dentistry or other emergencies.

These are basic guidelines to take into consideration:

Look at your family history. How healthy are you and are there any genetic diseases that you may inherit such as diabetes, asthma or epilepsy?

Also check for personalised benefits like trauma treatment, accident and emergency treatment and female contraception for example.

How many times did you want or need to go to the doctor, hospital, but didn’t because of cost concerns?

Do you have any injuries that could cause problems later in life?

Do you need day-to-day cover?

Consider what you might need in the next year. Perhaps you are thinking about starting a family or feel you may need physical therapy.

What can you afford? Draw up a budget, listing everything from your monthly cellphone spend to your gym membership and grocery bills.

Look at which expenses are non-essential. Ask yourself whether you would rather have that daily cappuccino or know that in an emergency you have access to quality healthcare.

Factoring in medical aid as one of your monthly budget items can save you from unanticipated medical expenses, giving you peace of mind that you are covered in the event of unexpected illness.

Another key aspect is the transition from being a dependant on a parent’s medical aid to having your own.

It is important to understand that having a gap between medical aids may result in waiting periods. This could mean you will not be able to access certain benefits for stipulated time frames.

In recent years, there has been more focus on healthy living and adopting a healthy lifestyle, which most medical schemes support by providing programmes linked to this lifestyle. These programmes, while not part of the scheme, might offer separate benefits.

Choosing a medical scheme may be daunting, especially when you have never had some form of medical aid or relied on your parents to make the choice for you in the past.

Millennials, medical aid is not an expense but an investment for a healthy future!

Let us assist you in making the best decisions.

If you need help with medical aid, contact our medical aid consultant, Bianka Bennett on 041-581-2509 or