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State-run facilities are an option, but in this country they need to cater for a vast number of the population who cannot afford medical care. If you are in a position to pay for a medical aid, why tax under-resourced and struggling provincial hospitals when a medical aid can cover you.

Still not making sense? Maybe these stories will scare you into action.

A Rock thats wierth more than any diamond in the world
by Chase   Evans - 10/12/2010 10:12:38 AM

On sunday morning i woke up with a slight pain in the lower right back... didnt think to much of it... but desided to by some Cranberry juice just incase i was getting an infection... on sunday evening i went to the bathroom to "wee" and the colour was that of a muddy red it also stained the toilet bowl. It was then that i thought something was up... Could it have been the Crannberry juice''s red colour...oh well... I woke up on Monday at 4am with a pain that was getting esponentially worse by the second... i found the pain to be so bad that i was wish that my body would pass out... whilest in the Fetal position i got on my phone to find out what the cause could have been... Hep? Appendix? Gallblader? My brother eventually came up stair because i was screaming to loud the neghbours were complaining... him and is friend then rush me off to hospital after they called my father who said he would fund me due to me not even having a hospital plan. My father said he would kill me afterwards for not getting medical aid. So i got to the Hospital and the nurse gave me two bags of what i thought to be a Morphine like drug... it took an hour for the pain to even hint at going away... they then rushed me off to the Radiology department for an X-ray of my lower back... but wait... Sir do you accept the cost of the X-ray it will be 2k... ummmmm Hold on "call dad" dad 2k ok? yes... thanks dad, Ok doc go ahead... its the wierdest thing when a doctor just leaves you in the middel of a passage with a drip in your arm because you cant pay... No money... They dont care... So the results came back and the doc says you have a single kidney stone... its gonna cost you 15k for the surgery and about another 8k for your stay over 3 nights... but the desission is up to the ER doc.. WOW my bill is desided by the ER Doc and i have no say in the cost!!!! so during my 2 hour wait i told the nurse i wanted to "wee" so i grabbed my IV bag and put it over my shoulder... then walked to the toilet... whilest i was "weeing" Clink!!! thats a wierd sound... it was the Stone which i peed out... and yes it is a stone... I was so luck because that Stone which was 3 mm in diameter would have cost me +/-40k without medical aid... I Changed my mind about medical aid that morning... Good luck to thos of you who choose not to have a medical aid.... im getting myne today 12/10/2010

"I tried to be strong when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, but when the bills started pouring in, I just couldn''t cope..."
by John   Smith - 5/14/2010 11:45:56 AM

My husband and I both work for small companies, where you have the option of paying for your own medical aid. Somehow though, we both never got round to it, managing with the odd doctor''s and dentist''s visits here and there. We didn''t think it was too much of an issue. Until Clive, my husband, was diagnosed with bowel cancer. At that time, all you think about is whether they''ll survive and what you''re going to tell the children. It started with a string of tests and doctors'' visits and they just didn''t stop. Pretty soon our savings had dried up and Clive seemed to be getting sicker despite treatment. Surgery took its toll on all of us and the worst of it all was that I was worrying about the costs and not just my husband''s health. It was a guilt-ridden, anxious time that I just couldn''t see ending. Clive is fine now and much better. The cancer has disappeared but just when we thought we could return to our normal lives, we had to deal with medical bills that amounted to almost a hundred thousand rands. When I speak to people now who tell me about how having a medical aid is something you only really appreciate when the need arises, I don''t scoff at them anymore.

Think about this

A mere tonsillectomy will cost you around R3 000. We cover the cost in full.
A medical aid that only covers 100% of NHRPL will only pay around R700 toward the full cost.

Having a baby will cost you about R6 500 for gynaecologist's fees, only.
We cover this cost in full but a scheme that pays 100% of NHRPL will leave you with about R4 000 to pay out of your own pocket.

R12 000! That's the going rate for a normal delivery when having a baby without a medical aid.

R22 000! That's what you'll have to fork out to bring your little bundle of joy into the world through caesarean section, if you don't have a medical aid.

Need a colonoscopy? It will cost you around R3 000 without a medical aid. And if you're with a scheme that only covers 100% of NHRPL you will have to pay around R1 800 of that yourself.