Momentum Medical Scheme has announced that it will implement an annual contribution adjustment of 9.4% for 2025 while Discovery Health Medical Scheme will be increasing contributions for 2025 by a weighted average increase of 9.3%.

Discovery and Momentum are just two of the top five leading medical aid schemes in South Africa, according to a 2024 report by the Council for Medical Schemes.

Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) and Bonitas Medical Fund also feature in the top five leading medical aid schemes list.

Discovery, which offers 22 plans across seven categories, has 1.36 million members and 2.8 million beneficiaries.

Momentum is the third largest medical aid scheme with 156,044 members and 296,119 beneficiaries. The medical aid offers 35 plans across six scheme categories.

Bonitas which has 730,000 members offers 15 plans across five scheme categories.

GEMS is a restricted medical scheme designed to meet the healthcare needs of government employees. It has six healthcare option and more than 800,000 main members and 2 million beneficiaries.

Here is a look at the cost of a basic and top level medical aid plan between Discovery, Bonitas, GEMS and Momentum.

Cost of medical aid in South Africa
Name of medical aid	Basic medical aid plan	Cost of basic level plan	Top level medical aid plan	Cost of top level plan
Discovery	Keycare series	from R1,102	Executive	from R10,303
Bonitas	BonStart	from R1,378pm	BonComprehensive	from R9,853
Momentum	Evolve	from R541	Summit	from R13,573
GEMS	Tanzanite One	from R1,363 pm	Onyx	from R6,162

Medical aid and health insurance

There is often the misconception that medical aid and health insurance are the same thing, however, they are completely different.

Craig Comrie, CEO, Profmed said: “People need to seriously consider the implications and understand the difference between health insurance and medical aid.”

According to Comrie, one of the key distinctions between health insurance and medical schemes is their ownership structure which drives motives behind these healthcare products.

Comrie said that medical schemes are owned by members and dedicated to servicing their healthcare needs while offering them built-in protections.

Health insurance products are operated by insurers who may prioritise profit motives and have shareholders who require a return on their investment, according to Comrie. These disparities can lead to differences in coverage, benefits and differences in care.

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