BESTMED: Enabling You to Live Your Best Life
With a proven track record of offering unequalled value for money, access to an extensive network of healthcare providers and a host of preventative and wellness benefits, South Africans are turning in their droves to Bestmed, South Africa’s largest self-administered medical scheme and its award-winning healthcare cover.
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National and global health pandemics have brought into stark focus the critical importance of healthcare that is personalised, provides exceptional value for value, and is backed by a wealth of experience and quality. With a track record of success approaching 60 years in 2024, Bestmed is South Africa’s largest self-administered medical scheme with over 200,000 lives under its care, and one of the top four open medical schemes in the country.
“Bestmed owes its success and continued growth to its members,” the non-profit, mutual medical scheme registered with the Council of Medical Schemes outlines. “Bestmed is by members, for members and this philosophy inspires ownership, trust and high levels of quality – externally and internally.
“We are proud to have stayed true to our brand essence during these challenging and uncertain times.”
AWARD-WINNING COVER
Across its suite of Beat, Pace and Rhythm options which span hospital, network, savings, and comprehensive plans, Bestmed is passionate about enhancing the quality of healthcare for its members. “We recognise that people’s healthcare needs are different, depending on their age, marital status, family size, general health, priorities and budget,” Bestmed summarises, with its range of offerings each boasting their own unique benefit options.
The Beat range offers flexible hospital benefits with savings on some options to pay for out-of-hospital expenses, while the Pace range offers more comprehensive in-hospital and out-of-hospital benefits. “These options all have additional savings accounts to cover extensive out-of-hospital expenses,” Bestmed furthers. “The Rhythm range consists of our Network only options that offer in-hospital and GP benefits.
“We remain committed,” Bestmed reinforces, “to ensuring that we are large enough to create value for our beneficiaries, that we are personal enough to provide care for each one of them, and that we are humble enough to listen and respond with agility to realign our service to our mutual vision of helping people live their best life today, tomorrow and beyond.”
Over what has been an enduring and outstanding contribution to the medical aid and healthcare industry, Bestmed has frequently been recognised with the highest available honours. In both 2021 and 2022 the company received the highest rating for perceived quality and value, customer service and customer loyalty in the Medical Scheme Industry Category in the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi), backed by the highest rating for customer expectations and the lowest in the industry for beneficiary complaints.
In the Medical Aid Industry performance category of the 2022 Ask Afrika Orange Index Bestmed was also given the top ranking and was awarded the Excellence in Creating Access to Quality Healthcare (Organisations) award at the 2022 annual Titanium Awards presented by the Board for Healthcare Fundraisers (BHF).
HEALTHY VALUE
Bestmed is also working tirelessly to shatter the perception that the pinnacle of healthcare must, surely, come at a prohibitive cost. “We are hard at work to contain increases in member contributions,” Bestmed underlines, at a time when such considerations have perhaps never been more paramount.
“With our extensive experience and exceptional expertise, we negotiate with service providers to offer members benefits and services that are Rand-for-Rand the best value compared to other larger open medical schemes. We also maintain a strong operational focus, as we continuously strive to drive down costs.
“We have managed to keep increases to single digits over six consecutive years and have structured plans designed to suit every life stage and pocket.”
The challenges within the healthcare industry are widely noted and wide-ranging: intense competition, new legislation, increasing compliance requirements, rising costs and waste, among the most oft-cited. “Continued economic challenges and subdued growth results in intense competition for a share of a household’s disposable income, and the cost of medical cover will remain a very important consideration for schemes and members alike,” Bestmed recognises.
In 2021, Bestmed demonstrated its resilience in the face of such adversity and signalled its clear ability to maintain its burgeoning growth with the welcoming of its 100,000th principal member, which equated to more than 209,000 individuals. That this came during possibly the healthcare industry’s sternest ever test, and, conversely, at a point when its importance was vividly and inarguably highlighted, only serves to underscore the perceived value of Bestmed’s offering and the trust placed in its expertise and experience.
“We remain committed to continue delivering the excellent service that our members have become accustomed to,” Bestmed says of its intentions to support, care for and ameliorate lives across South Africa. “Our sustainable growth is only possible with the support of our members, our advisors, our healthcare providers and our employees and we are sincerely grateful.”