Healthcare costs ‘far outstrip inflation’
Company plans price hike of up to 10% after announcing Discovery Health operating profit of R3.9bn
22 September 2024 - 05:27
UPDATED 23 September 2024 - 11:06
Discovery Group said the high cost of private healthcare is a result of an increase in chronic illnesses and an ageing population, which are among the drivers of medical inflation, adding that it is rolling out initiatives to keep the cost down.
According to Discovery, increasing chronicity accounts for 15% of the demand for healthcare, with chronic beneficiaries having grown from 15.8% in 2008 to 33.1% in 2024. Increased ageing of the scheme contributes 47% of the demand . Discovery has 3.9-million medical aid scheme members in South Africa. ..
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