The daunting costs of private healthcare and why you need dread disease cover
If you are diagnosed with a severe illness such as a dread disease, this will quite literally change your life and have a serious impact on your finances if you do not have any form of healthcare cover in place such as health insurance.
Severe illnesses such as heart attacks or cancer are not selective and can affect anyone. Although gender, age, family history and your lifestyle have a role to play in your risk of these sorts of conditions, there is nothing you can do to try and emotionally prepare yourself for these sorts of unexpected events. However, there is a way you can financially prepare yourself with healthcare cover.
The fact of the matter is that serious diseases need serious cover.
Why is dread disease cover important?
Costs of private hospital treatment
Before we get into the need for cover for dread disease, let’s first explore why you need cover in place to protect you from private healthcare bills. The cost of private hospitals are unpredictable and will vary from hospital to hospital. Unlike public healthcare facilities and clinics, there is no single set rate for admin fees for patients, regardless of your medical condition.
Deposit costs
If you do not have medical aid or health insurance, then you will have to pay upfront costs out of your own pocket. The deposit for private hospital admission will vary on the medical condition you have and the hospital you have chosen to seek treatment at. It can start as low as R3000 and go up to R15 000 or higher.
Patients who are in need of bypass surgery for a heart attack can fork out as much as R50 000 for the deposit.
Treatment costs
And the costs don’t stop with the admission fees. Your deposit is just a small surety for the upcoming medical bills that you will accumulate whilst in hospital. Your hospital bed can cost between R1200 to R2000 or more for a day.
This only includes the cost of the bed and meals. Additionally, you need to factor in the costs of consult fees for doctors and specialists as well as medication and any other disposable items used. If you need to have surgery, then you will be billed according to the time spent in the theatre room.
Surgery costs will also include the costs of the operating surgeon and anaesthetist fees. If any additional tests need to be conducted such as blood tests, MRIs and CT scans, these will be additional costs added to your bill.
Health insurance with dread disease cover
Dread disease cover is often an additional cost to a medical aid plan or sold as a stand-alone product. However, with Oneplan Health Insurance, we include dread disease cover in 3 of our 4 health insurance plans.
Related: What is covered in health insurance?
What is a dread disease?
A dread disease is a serious illness such as a heart attack or cancer. These sorts of health conditions tend to accumulate serious bills to treat.
What is a dread disease cover?
Dread disease cover is a form of insurance that helps you cover the costs of private healthcare treatment in the event that you are diagnosed with a severe illness.
What does dread disease cover include?
Here’s what you are covered for:
Heart attack, Coronary artery disease requiring surgery, Heart valve replacement
Surgery to the aorta/aneurysm, Stroke, Cancer, Major organ transplant, Brain tumours
You will be covered for 12 months from date of diagnosis, after this, you have to wait 6 months to claim again for the same disease
What does dread disease cover exclude?
Conditions not specified as a dread disease will be covered under the applicable illness cover.
Each dependant on your policy will only be allowed to claim up to 3 times for the same dread disease.
How much does dread disease cover cost?
Dread disease cover can be expensive, but with Oneplan we include this cover in your health insurance plan.
Blue Plan
This plan costs R900 a month and includes up to R290 000 per defined disease per year.
Professional Plan
This plan costs R1 210 a month and includes up to R315 000 per defined disease per year.
Executive Plan
This plan costs R1 605 a month and includes up to R365 000 per defined disease per year
Where to get started
If you want to ensure your health is in the capable hands of doctors and specialists at private healthcare facilities, then have a look at our health insurance plans or sign up online.
At Oneplan, we do everything we can to make insurance simple and easy to use. Putting your health first, no matter what.
Your Health Insurance Family,
Oneplan
