Medical Aid: New 2026 prices and benefits

Reminder: rehealth.co.za is a free to use website that helps you get the most out of your medical aid. It's free, it's instant. No registration or pesky sales calls.

Today we discuss:

New premiums (urgh!) and new benefits for 2026
Sneaky wording from medical aid schemes to hide benefit loss
Virtual healthcare
and more!

🖊️ A quick update...

It’s October, which means that it’s the time of the year we are told by our medical aid schemes that we need to pay them more money. There are plans that now cost well over R15,000 per month per person 🫢. On the other hand, there are plans that cost just R1,250 per person, so I guess there is something for everyone. (Want to find a plan to suit your pocket? You can now instantly search for a plan by price).

We are updating the 2026 prices and benefits for each open plan on rehealth.co.za. Believe me when I tell you it’s a tedious task…I like to read every line of those marketing brochures myself to make sure nothing seeps through the cracks (see below for some of the tricks!). The process drives me mad every year.

On a plus side, you can already go to the individual Bestmed, Bonitas, Discovery, Keyhealth, and Momentum plans to see new prices.

My goal is to have all 2026 benefits listed on rehealth by 1 November, so you can make informed decisions about your 2026 plan choices. But we’ll talk about that over the coming weeks.

And yes, we're working on more features: better ways to choose a gap cover (massively important!), closed schemes' benefits, health hubs, 1-on-1 chats with doctors and more. Exciting 2026 loading!

Stay healthy! Stay wise and thanks for reading.

PS: Send me your medical aid/insurance questions and experiences. I can’t give individual advice but I can maybe give you insight into benefits and legislation. eved@rehealth.co.za or hit reply to this email.

PSS: In the coming weeks, I am going to focus here on how you can save money on your premiums. This is not hot-air talk. Just this week I helped someone save R18k/yr in premiums while merely discussing it with him over appetizers at a dinner party. If this sounds relevant to you, please look out for the newsletter every Friday.

Our Guides are free and available for instant download.

🇿🇦 Medical Aid 101:

Useful and relevant information about medical aid, gap covers, hospital insurance and even pet cover. Goal: to help you know the rules, so you don't overpay.

Watch out: Reading between the lines....

I'm reading the 2026 plan brochures, and I'm somewhat amused by all the different ways (some) medical aids will hide the fact that you are losing more and more health cover each year. Here are some examples I've collected so you can watch out for them:

Smaller saving accounts. You think your premium did not go up "that much" but you don't realise that you have a much smaller savings account. You'll need to spend more out of pocket.
Benefits that are taken away altogether. Somehow (no surprise) this is never highlighted! Common trick is for benefits to move to "PMBs cover only", and you won't even know.
Benefits that move from “per person” to “per family”
Adding a sub-limit where none existed before.
Removing out-of-hospital benefit for some claims, like MRIs or scopes.
Sub-limits that do not increase from one year to next. (Argument here is that medical costs/innovation decrease claims so not as much cover is needed, but we aren't falling for that, are we?)

Can you think of any more examples or tricks? Let me know 😄.

PMB Spotlight: Menopause

Just this week a reader forwarded me an email from Bonitas telling the member that “menopause is not a PMB”. Well, sorry Bonitas…menopause is a PMB and I’ve confirmed this with the Council of Medical Schemes. How does this translate into an actual benefit? That’s a bit trickier, but we do know this: HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) during menopause must be paid by your scheme, not by you. We have a new PMB Guide for free download. It has all 270 PMBs listed, as well as the treatment pairs. (Handy to keep on your phone for next time you are at doctor).

Other news:

✅ 💰Discovery will only increase its premiums in April 2026, which I think is a very clever way to make the pain feel less. On the other hand, Sizwe will increase premiums from November 2025, which I have never seen done before. They are under curatorship, so that probably explains it.

✅ ⁉️I don't have much to say about NHI (yet) because there is little sense in discussing something that is so far from being anything remotely tangible. I think we will go through dozens of iterations. I'm not getting worked up about it just yet. Case in point: our Finance Minister this week said the private sector will need to play a role. Let's not panic yet.

✅ 💸Hot tip: make use of all your "free" benefits from your medical aid, before the end year. They don't carry over to next year! To see what you get for free, go to rehealth.co.za, find your scheme/plan and go through all the benefits. (The Preventative Benefits section is a good place to look).

✅ Don't forget, rehealth,co.za allows you to check your all your plan benefits here, and you can also compare any two plans side by side.

🇿🇦 Everyday health:

You might have 99 problems - until you have a health problem. Then you'll have just one problem. Look after yourself! This section is all about helping you do just that.

Give telehealth a chance: it's cheap(er) and efficient

Online GP consults are becoming more popular, and South Africa has quite a few digital options. You can use online consults to get a prescription, have medical questions answered, and get a sick note. Some medical aid plans (even those that are "hospital only") offer a few consults per year, for free. If you're paying out of pocket, costs start at about R250 per consult. They're convenient, quick and often just what you need.

Private-access pathology labs:

It's not just GP consults that can be done virtually. You can now also order basic tests like blood tests, or fluid tests (to test for UTIs, for example). If necessary, you can then consult with a GP (virtually, if you prefer) to explore treatment options, etc.

Helpful Guides:

You can instantly download our handy Guides. We have five:

Medical Aid Guide
Gap Cover Guide
Health Insurance Guide
PMB Guide
Pet Cover Guide

Download Now

Other news:

💤 The Oura Ring 4, which helps track activity and sleep, is coming to South Africa. For now, it's an exclusive Discovery Health deal. As usual, Discovery have made it possible to fund the Ring in full (ie free, R10,000 value) if you are a Discovery Bank and Vitality member, and if you achieve the sleeping goals. More info here.

🙎‍♀️ It's Breast Cancer awareness month. Almost every medical aid plan offers a free mammogram at least once every 2-3 years for women 45yrs+. If you are younger but at genetic risk, you can try motivate your scheme for early exams.

💔 End of year gets hectic and stressful. If you or someone you know needs mental health intervention, know that medical aid pays for up to 15 out of hospital consults with a psychologist, or up to 21 days in a mental health facility. By law. Even on hospital plans. More info here.

Know of a South African service / product / facility that I should feature here? Let me know by hitting reply to this email!

PSST....

ISN'T THIS EYE-CATCHING?

Do you want to talk to 20,000+ medical aid members about your product or service? Starting right here, in this block?

Let's chat: eved@rehealth.co.za

🇿🇦 Weekend loading...

An important part of staying healthy is taking time out to relax, and smell the roses. Go hang out with a book, a podcast, your dog or your friends. Climb a mountain, eat a salad. Smile. This section is all about helping you get into that mood.

Read: Good Energy is a must-read

Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health
This is a remarkable book that helps you take control of your health and address the root problem of many diseases. The author says that "nearly every health problem we face can be explained by how well the cells in our body create and use energy". She teaches the reader how to optimally power our cells, and maintain a healthy metabolism and help you live well, and age well. I enjoyed it immensely, and learnt a lot.

Watch: Shrinking

I just finished binge-watching this two-season series, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's about a father and daughter who try to navigate life post a tragedy. Lots and lots of mental health lessons abound, since much of the series takes place in a therapy practice. All the characters are memorable, and this series will put a smile on your face. Starring Harrison Ford, Jason Segel and lots of other familiar faces.
Apple TV+.

Listen: Andrew Huberman

In this episode, Andrew Huberman explains "cortisol and science-based protocols for properly setting your cortisol rhythm, which can significantly increase your daytime energy, focus, mood, and stress resilience, while also improving your sleep quality." It's a fact heavy episode, so be prepared, but it will forever change how you view cortisol, and hopefully will help you live a balanced life. I took a lot of notes!

Laugh: Springboks

🏉 I can't watch this without laughing each and every time. I love what this team has done for our country, and even though I know very little about Rugby I have had the best time watching and supporting (aka screaming from the couch!) over the past years.

Siya Kolisi

SO GAAN DIE LEWE 🤣🤣🤣 #sportsontiktok #siyakolisi #cheslinkolbe #ebenetzebeth #rgsnyman

♬ original sound - Siya Kolisi

🇿🇦 Let's save some money...

There's little I like more than a good deal! And now I want to collect as many health and wellness deals and special offers for you as possible. Watch this space.