FA News – 7th October 2022
Private healthcare is a must when it comes to accessing quality and timely medical services in South Africa and being able to provide this for your children is often a priority.
But as a single parent, being able to afford this care is even more challenging. Without a second income to rely on, single parents face even more pressure under the current cost of living crunch that the whole world is feeling now. The last thing single parents need is the additional financial pressure of medical expense shortfalls, and this is where gap cover can assist.
A heavy burden
According to Statistics South Africa, almost half of children in South Africa live in a single parent household, with 42% of children living only with their mother and 4% living only with their father. When a parent’s worst nightmare happens and a child is sick or injured, how do single parents afford the medical care their children need? When parents themselves need treatment, they cannot afford to delay either, because they are the sole breadwinner in the household and need to be healthy and productive.
Even with medical aid cover, there are often significant co-payments, particularly on the more affordable plan options, and there are often shortfalls, particularly when it comes to accidents and chronic illnesses like childhood cancers. Funding these shortfalls can place a strain on already stretched budgets, leaving money short for other essentials like food, or leading to little option other than to apply for a loan to cover additional medical expenses.
Funding the gap
One of the most affordable ways to ensure that quality healthcare can be funded is to augment medical aid cover with an appropriate gap cover policy. Often, the more cost-effective medical scheme options have limited cover for in-hospital treatment and also make use of a specific network of hospitals, so when doctors charge more than medical aid rates or you make use of hospitals outside of the network, there will be shortfalls to fund. Gap cover can help to maximise cover and reduce these co-payments and shortfalls.
In addition, certain gap cover options and providers offer additional value, through things like casualty benefits that cover the expense of necessary visits to the emergency room. There is also cover for trauma counselling which is something many single parents would never seek out even when it is needed, due to affordability factors.
Looking after your health and wellbeing as well as your children is important, and the long-term repercussions of delaying treatment can be catastrophic. Your financial advisor is a wealth of information, and they can assist you to make the most of your money and find a solution that maximises cover within your budget for ultimate peace of mind.
A lifelong responsibility
The unfortunate reality is that many parents in South Africa, especially mothers, are on their own from even before a child is born. The cost of childcare is often high and there can be medical expense shortfalls right from the start. As children grow up, the list of expenses grows – from common childhood illnesses that require surgery, like tonsilitis and grommets, to accidents, wisdom teeth removal and even dread diseases.
These can all carry significant medical expense shortfalls. Without the right cover in place, they must be funded out of pocket, which is something single parents can ill afford in today’s financial climate. Gap cover can help to ease this burden and ensure not only your physical health and the health of your children is protected, but that your financial wellbeing is looked after as well
https://www.fanews.co.za/article/healthcare/6/general/1124/covering-your-child-s-healthcare-as-a-single-parent/35624
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Client Testimonials
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