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We’ve all found ourselves a few months into the year wondering where our medical aid savings went. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Truth is, there are easy-to-action ways to save on your medical bills and stretch out your medical savings, so they are available to you when you need them later in the year.

THE EARLIER, THE BETTER

Early detection not only improves outcomes, but it also saves you on future medical costs. With Bestmed Tempo, all members get free annual Health Assessments (HA) to let you know what lifestyle illnesses you might be at risk of developing. Once your Health assessment is done, you unlock a variety of free wellness benefits including dietician visits, biokineticist visits, child and family assessments and a mental health helpline for you and your dependants. The programme also offers online intervention workshops to help you manage your high-risk areas and give you a head start on you journey to wellness.

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Bestmed offers a range of preventative care benefits across all options with the aim of preventing future medical conditions where possible. The great thing about these benefits is that they are paid from Scheme risk meaning that they are not paid from your savings or day-to-day benefits allowing you to save those funds. The benefits differ depending on your selected benefit option, and they include the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and annual pneumonia and flu vaccines, preventative dentistry, mammograms, Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) screening, bone densitometry, child immunisations, pap smears, female contraceptives, etc. Making use of these amazing benefits means that you can prevent ailments and detect diseases early so you spent less of your savings on the treatment and, better yet, less time being sick.

GENERICS

With medicine becoming more and more expensive every year, generic medicines can really help you stretch your savings. Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug; except they cost much less. So, next time you have to pop by the pharmacy to pick up your prescription, ask the pharmacist for the generic versions of your medications. Stick to your network pharmacies and ask for generics where possible and, not only will it reduce your chances of having a co-payment, but it will also give your savings that yearlong elasticity we all long for.

WORK THE NETWORK

Not all doctors’ rooms are created equal. Bestmed’s Service Provider department works hard to expand our network and negotiated affordable fees and rates for Bestmed members. Download the Bestmed App to find and use the Provider Search feature to find Bestmed network providers near you. The App will help you find the closest doctor, specialist, pharmacy, radiology, hospital, and other providers. The provider search feature allows you to set your desired location as an anchor point and set a three, six, ten or unlimited kilometre search radius. Visiting an in-network provider also reduce your chances of dealing with a co-payment, which will reduce the nagging feeling that you’re also paying for your GP’s overdue waiting room makeover.

Also keep in mind that most pharmacies have primary healthcare clinics operated by trained nurses that can perform various tests and administer vaccinations and injections at much cheaper rates – so you may not even need to go to your GP.

READ BETWEEN THE LINE ITEMS

Don’t be shy to ask for an itemised statement and give it a thorough interrogation of your claims statements. Bestmed’s Contact Centre and Claims teams will happily assist you to evaluate any anomalies in your bill. Picking up possible inconsistencies or unnecessary charges could translate into some savings on your side.

ASK FOR A SCRIPT EXTENSION

When your doctor prescribes you chronic medication or any medicines that you will have to use consistently over a long period of time, make sure to ask him for a once-off script or, better yet, a recurring script that calls for regular refills. This will mean that you don’t have to visit the doctor and pay a consultation fee every time you need a refill on your prescription.