Did you know that in South Africa, every citizen is entitled to some form of health insurance thanks to the National Health Service? The money is funded by Social Security and National Insurance funds. It sounds like an amazing concept right?
The country’s budgets struggle to meet the needs of the people, providing only very basic forms of coverage or sometimes none at all while the growth in medicine and costs rise.
A lot of South African businesses are doing there part, by instating health insurance coverage for all their employees. These employees are not only granted with compensation each week for their work, but also insurance coverage that helps pay for basic health costs and more serious issues.
Employees who not receive coverage from their employee are forced to seek health insurance privately. Employees either take their chances with state provided health insurance or contact private health insurance agencies and discus their options with a broker.
After you contact an insurance broker of your choice, the agency will appoint a doctor’s physical which you must attend. Doctor’s physicals allow the doctor to analyze and judge how your body is operating and what state of health it is in. The medical report will outline the state of your vital organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver.
Some people hate physicals because of the personal questions the doctor will ask the patient. The patient might get offended, but unfortunately it’s part of the physical process. The doctor will ask questions about smoking, drinking, and drug use as well as personal diet and fitness questions. The personal weight of the patient is always heavily monitored and commented on.
The doctor must also examine your family’s history of medical problems or mental illness. Through your family tree, the doctor can predict and assess the chances of you catching one of these hereditary diseases.
After the physical is completed, the doctor will fax the information over to your insurance provider. The insurance agency will examine your medical records closely and heed to any advice from the doctor. Entire staffs at insurance agencies spend their entire day judging these reports and deciding who and who doesn’t qualify for health insurance.
Unless you are extremely overweight, abuse your body in one way or another, or have extreme past problems and health concerns ? an insurance broker is likely to accept.
Insurance brokers want to reward individuals that take an interest in their personal health and want to keep an healthy, active lifestyle.
Graham McKenzie is the content Syndication Manager at insurance123.co.zaSouth Africa’s leading Health Insurance information portal.
Tags: Doctors, GP, health, health insurance, Insurance, Medical, Medical Aid, medical insurance