Momentum Medical Scheme would like to play a leading role in helping consumers recover from the debilitating impact of the pandemic and will therefore defer their contribution increase until September 2022, while still increasing benefit limits across all options and even adding new benefits. This equates to more than R200m in funding that the Scheme is putting back into Members’ pockets. The 6% increase that will be introduced in September 2022, will result in a nett increase of 2% over the year.
“The Scheme’s robust performance throughout the pandemic and stable financials enable it to assist Members in the most impactful manner possible, which is to defer the contribution increase at the end of 2021,” says Damian McHugh, Executive at Momentum Health Solutions. “Although medical inflation continues to increase, and new medical procedures are adding healthcare costs that we have not previously had to make provision for, the Scheme believes that it is in a position to delay the increase in contribution required, to ensure the Scheme’s long-term sustainability, until September 2022. The calculations forecast that such relief could immensely benefit consumers, as they bounce back from reduced income or loss of income in many cases.”
“The average age of Momentum Medical Scheme’s Members sits well below the industry average, and as a result thereof, the long-term claims forecast is more favourable than most other schemes in the country,” explained McHugh. “As outlined last year, when one factors in a pandemic like COVID-19, the impact of a favourable member profile becomes even more important. While the Scheme has made provision for the unexpected future pandemic-related costs, it was able to focus more on helping its Members retain their medical scheme cover during these tough economic conditions.”
The Scheme’s administrator, Momentum Health Solutions, has introduced a vaccine reward benefit in the form of Monthly Wins on its popular HealthReturns+ programme. Members who have been fully vaccinated and achieve certain milestones during the month, will receive an additional R100 to spend at participating partners, or swipe into their HealthSaver+ account to further boost their HealthReturns earned. This is in line with Momentum’s view not to force anyone to get vaccinated, but to educate and encourage clients and members to “do the right thing”. We are strongly in favour of vaccinating as many individuals as possible – everyone’s choices and actions have consequences and the more citizens who choose to protect themselves and those around them, the better for our country’s long-term economic and healthcare outlook. We remain committed to mutual respect and open, honest engagement in our approach to beating the pandemic.
Digital healthcare remains one of the areas in which we lead by innovation. The extent of our capacity to afford members world-class healthcare from the safety and convenience of their home now includes
- an expansion of our trusted and well-known Hello Doctor offering, with 24/7 access to consultations with qualified doctors, who can now also prescribe medication
- being able to do a virtual health assessment at home
- having the option of completing an online fitness assessment
- extensive wellness support through our comprehensive Coach in your Pocket app
McHugh concludes, “Momentum Health Solutions remains focused on innovation and problem solving. In so doing, striving to meet the holistic healthcare and financial needs of companies and individuals across the spectrum, uniquely positioning us to provide a safe, affordable and seamless life-journey to our clients.”
+Momentum Medical Scheme members may choose to make use of additional products available from Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited (Momentum), to seamlessly enhance their medical aid. Momentum is not a medical scheme, and is a separate entity to Momentum Medical Scheme. The complementary products are not medical scheme benefits. You may be a member of Momentum Medical Scheme without taking any of the complementary products.