Rest assured,
you’re in good
hands
The healthcare industry has been plagued by escalating
healthcare costs which has seen several smaller schemes
unable to sustain the balancing act of providing affordable
cover while maintaining financial sustainability – a trend
that is expected to continue. As one of the largest and
most stable medical schemes in South Africa, our mission
is to make quality healthcare more affordable and more
accessible. We are, therefore, proud that many of these
smaller schemes see Bonitas as a solution to the future
for their existing members. We assure you that we will
always do this in a very responsible manner as to not
negatively affect our current members.
It is against this backdrop that approximately 5 600
members of the Community Medical Aid Scheme joined
Bonitas in August. We are pleased that the Council for
Medical Schemes has endorsed this opportunity and we
welcome these members into our fold and will ensure
that their healthcare needs are taken care of.
From a fiscal perspective, we are definitely seeing
positive changes. We released our financial results at
the end of July and are pleased to reveal that we have
recovered strongly from the large financial deficit in
2015. Our reserves have increased to R3.1 billion, which
places us in a stronger, more robust financial position
where we are confident of our ability to meet members’
claims. We strive to help members derive real value for
money and stretch their benefits as far as possible. Our
strong financials are largely due to rigorous negotiation
Page 3
strategies premised on strategic purchasing and the
development of advanced managed care protocols. The
past financial year saw the board and management team
determined to improve the operational, financial and
strategic position of the Fund to ensure sustainability.
Our cost-containment initiatives continue to bear fruit,
allowing our financial indicators to improve significantly
in an industry plagued by escalating costs and high
claims cycles. One of these initiatives is the back and
neck programme, which is designed to help members
manage back and neck pain in a clinically proven way.
Read more about this on page 11.
To top things off, we were awarded the 2017/2018 Ask
Afrika IconBrands Award for the medical aid category for
the second year in a row. The awards are independently
run by the Target Group Index and awarded based on a
series of market research factors including surveying
15 284 consumers. We also unveiled our Just In Case
safety campaign (see page 20) which is taking safety
lessons to 43 000 learners across South Africa.
Simplifying things for our members is one of our core
focus areas. As a result, we launched our new, improved
website and are currently making changes to our call
centre to assist you speedily and efficiently (see page 18).
We’re looking forward to building on these developments
over the next few months to bring you enhanced services
and offerings.
Gerhard
Gerhard van Emmenis
Principal Officer
Tell us how you feel
Share your stories about how Bonitas Medical Fund has made a
difference to your life and it could be featured in the next issue of
B-Living. Email your stories to [email protected].
B-Living Issue 3, 2017