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Bestmed is proud to announce that we have reached the 100 000 principal membership milestone! We now have over 209 000 lives under our care. We remain committed to continue delivering the excellent service that our members have become accustomed to. 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.

The importance of the role that medical schemes play in the lives of its members was amplified in 2020 and 2021 with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the three COVID waves. The healthcare industry, as well as every single citizen, had to be courageous in the face of adversity.

Bestmed Medical Scheme, the largest self-administered scheme in South Africa, and the 4^th largest open medical scheme, was able to grow its membership by 2.4%. Bestmed also performed exceptionally well in the South African customer satisfaction index (SA-csi) for both 2020 and 2021, which is testament to the Personally Yours service that members experience. 

Bestmed recently hosted its 57^th Annual General Meeting and presented the Scheme’s operational and financial performance.

Bestmed’s performance continues to be solid, not only in comparison to previous financial years, but also against the industry averages. The Scheme recorded a solvency ratio of 47.3% for the year ended 31 December 2020. With the focus on member experience, affordability, and value-for-money, Bestmed announced the lowest average premium increase in its recent history of 4% for 2021. 

Other achievements in 2020

• Ranked highest in employee morale and workplace support and management in Afriforte’s Organisational Human Factor Benchmark (OHFB) employee culture and climate survey.
• Winner of the 2020 Ask Afrika Orange Index® award for service excellence in the medical aid industry category.
• Highest ranking overall on the customer service index, loyalty, value, quality, and lowest complaints categories among open and closed medical schemes in the 2020 South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi).
• The Scheme was also recognised for its COVID-19 relief initiatives by winning the “Excellence in Creating Access to Quality Healthcare (Organisations)” category at the 6^th annual Titanium Awards hosted by the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) in November 2020.

Strategic review

The challenges in the healthcare industry relate to intense competition, new legislation, increasing compliance requirements, rising healthcare costs and fraud, waste and abuse (FWA). 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. .