Tougher times call for stronger scheme financials
The financial wellness (or lack thereof) of South Africans is of increasing concern, compounded by the volatile economic climate of the country. A worrying statistic is that one in four South Africans is unemployed, and less than two out of every ten people in the country have medical aid. Coupled with quickly rising medical costs, this creates a formidable challenge to face in the near future.
A recent study conducted by Statistics South Africa (source: www.tradingeconomics.com) revealed a correlation between the economic climate and healthcare industry performance. Periods of high unemployment are associated with periods of low or negative operational results in the industry. The fact that SA has an increasing unemployment rate with a slow economy and weak Rand breeds a macro-economic environment where lower operational results can be expected from schemes.
The envisaged National Health Insurance (NHI) Fund presents one way in which Government intends on addressing the disparity in healthcare access in South Africa. Notwithstanding the release of the White Paper late last year and plans to phase in this approach over the next ten years, some significant challenges are still to be adequately addressed by it. These include a vastly under-resourced public healthcare sector, and the much debated question of how this system will sustainably be funded.
Did you know?
From the three out of four employed people in SA:
- 48% have expenses that exceed their income
- 33% don’t have sufficient provision to cover their medical expenses
- 51% can’t make ends meet at the end of the month
- 80% of income is used to pay off debt
- more than half can’t retire comfortably or at the same standard of living they had before.
How does Momentum Health weigh up against such a challenging operating environment?
The Scheme’s own strong financial performance means its members enjoy peace of mind in an environment where pressure on medical schemes’ reserves is likely to continue increasing.
Overview of Momentum Health’s financial performance as at end 2015:
Solvency: 28.7% (above statutory requirement of 25%)
Principal membership: 128 681 (3rd largest open scheme)
Growth rate for past year: 10,8% (open scheme industry: 1,1%)
Average age (principal): 42.0
Average age (beneficiaries): 32.7 (industry: 33,6%)
Industry numbers are based on the open medical schemes as reported in the Council for Medical Schemes Annual Report 2014/2015
Independent accolades
The independent Global Credit Rating Agency (GCR) has, for the second consecutive year, awarded Momentum Health a very favourable AA rating for its claims paying ability, coupled with a stable outlook.
Service-driven client satisfaction
Momentum Health’s performance is not restricted to our financials. In the first half of 2016, in an average month, we have:
- paid more than R200 million, and processed more than 840 000 claims
- registered 341 new-borns and authorised 4 635 hospital admissions over this period.
During this period, Momentum paid Momentum Health members R2.8 million per month in HealthReturns. That’s an average of R300 per active member per month, unrivalled in SA.
And when it comes to being satisfied with our service, consumers all over SA agree, as per the latest SACsi (South African Consumer Satisfaction Index):
CONGRATULATIONS Momentum Health on your higher-than-industry SACsi (SA Customer Satisfaction Survey) results. Consumers have ranked Momentum Health highest in terms of its claims handling processes and overall see it as excellent value-for-money, with a net promoter score that is 13% higher than the industry benchmark (indicating the likelihood of referring the Scheme to family and friends).
While we are confident that Momentum Health is very strongly positioned to safeguard our members’ health going forward, the Scheme is more committed than ever to maintain its relentless focus on client-service, product innovation and forward planning, as the industry searches for solutions to the unique problems facing healthcare consumers in South Africa.
