MedXpert
Making sense of...
Preventative
Care
Benefits
How knowledge of the Preventative Care Benefits offered by your Medical Scheme
can help you save.
Does this information apply to you?
If any of the following statements apply to your situation, you will benefit from reading this:
- You are not aware that your Medical Scheme offers Preventative Care Benefits.
- You don’t understand all the different types of benefits offered by your Medical Scheme but want to.
- You have a plan covering in-hospital benefits only.
What are preventative screenings?
Your Medical Scheme offers preventative tests and screenings as a separate basket of benefits, not included in a savings account or day-to-day benefit structure. These Preventative Care Benefits will include tests like:
- Blood pressure screening
- Blood sugar level tests
- Non-fasting cholesterol tests
Further to these screening tests it also includes benefits aimed at
- women’s health and
- early childhood vaccines
Why should you use your Preventative Care Benefits?
Annual preventative screening can play a vital role in the early detection of health risks. Being informed and having a good understanding of your Preventative Care Benefits will not only help you manage your available benefits better, but also help you save money.
Preventative Care Benefits are paid from a separate basket of benefits, included in risk benefits and not from medical savings accounts or day-to-day benefit limits. You benefit by not accessing your day-to-day benefit basket and saving the benefits for when needed later in the year.
Even if your Medical Scheme benefit option only provides cover for in-hospital events, you will still have a Preventative Care Benefit basket.
Screenings are done at specific pharmacies and this means you do not have to pay for consultation fees.
The scheme you’re on also covers other preventative tests that can save you money, for example, prostate examinations, and back & neck programs.
Where can you access your Preventative Care Benefits?
Wellness providers such as pharmacy clinics offer basic screening for glucose, cholesterol, and HIV, while private doctors or hospitals typically provide mammograms, pap smears, or prostate screenings. However, each Medical Scheme has its own specified processes, and might also require the use of preferred service providers.
