Fedhealth’s new options give members more choice

A LACK of flexibility regarding their unique healthcare needs has been found to be the single biggest concern of medical scheme members. Fedhealth Medical Scheme has set out to address this problem with a completely redesigned option range that gives members flexibility, control, customisation and choice. Jeremy Yatt, the principal officer of Fedhealth, says although medical schemes are generally limited by legislation from personalising benefits in a way the market would ideally prefer, over the past six months Fedhealth has conducted extensive research among its member base to see how far it can go. This week it launched a new range of options that Fedhealth says “represent the most advanced innovation to the current medical scheme model seen in 20 years – since the introduction of savings accounts”. Says Yatt: “Members are generally not happy with the way medical schemes are structured. Some are healthy but pay for benefits that they don’t need, and consequently [members] feel they get nothing from their scheme, while others would prefer to access richer benefits. In an environment of tight regulation, medical schemes’ products to date have been unable to tailor benefits to members’ exact life circumstances.” The new Fedhealth range centres on four core options, which aim to do just that:

◆ flexiFED 1 for young people who do not have children;

◆ flexiFED 2 for young families just starting out;

◆ flexiFED 3 for young, still growing families; and

◆ flexiFED 4 for mature families. The unique feature of these options is that they replace the traditional medical savings account (which pays for day-to-day medical expenses) with a more flexible structure, which, instead of giving you a fixed annual sum upfront, lets you transfer money (from a Medivault into your own Wallet) as and when you need it. You pay – over 12 months, interest free – only for the money you have transferred. This means that your base contributions, which cover only the risk benefits, are considerably lower than those of a corresponding medical scheme option with a medical savings account. On each of the flexifed options, members can save a further 12% on their contributions by using Fedhealth’s network of more than 100 private hospitals around the country. Or they can save 24% by agreeing to an R11 500 upfront co-payment on planned procedures – similar to an upfront excess you would pay on a car insurance claim, for example. Note that the use of network hospitals and the upfront co-payment apply only to planned procedures. All emergency procedures are covered in full at any private hospital. Yatt says members have a misconception of networks, believing them to be restrictive and poor quality. At the same time, they find that savings accounts are not flexible enough. They want more of a say over what their cover should be and how their daily benefits are used. They also want some control over how they pay for it. “Therein lies the opportunity we have recognised. There is not one medical scheme in South Africa that offers the level of flexibility of our new range,” says Yatt. Fedhealth members on its existing range of options will be moved next year to the option whose benefits most closely correspond to their current one.