Bestmed Medical Scheme continues to grow

Bestmed Medical Scheme hosted its 59th Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually on Thursday, 22 June 2022.

Annually, the AGM provides Bestmed with the opportunity to share the Scheme’s prior financial year’s financial and operational highlights, as well as important governance aspects with its beneficiaries.

During the 2022 financial year, “despite increasing economic pressures and an industry-wide increase in claims post the COVID-19 pandemic, Bestmed continued to build on the sustainable membership growth and service excellence achieved in the previous financial year,” says Colin Mowatt, Bestmed’s Chairman.

Bestmed has maintained a strong financial position and achieved sustainable growth. A few highlights for the year ended 31 December 2022, include the following:
• Bestmed takes care of over 220 000 beneficiaries, who all receive the Scheme’s Personally Yours service. Principle membership increased by 10.6% (2021: 3.45%), making it the fourth consecutive year of net principal member growth.
• Bestmed’s strategic focus for 2022 was on ensuring value for money for beneficiaries. The average weighted contribution increase for 2022 was a modest 3.9% across all options, while benefit limits were increased with an overall 4%. Bestmed’s value proposition was confirmed by independent, external research in the form of the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi). Bestmed ranked first in the SA-csi’s measures for perceived value, perceived quality, customer satisfaction, treating customers fairly, customer expectations, and customer loyalty in 2022 (leader for a third consecutive year).
• Bestmed also increased optometry benefits for 2022 by approximately 20% and eliminated co-payments on many of the Scheme’s benefits.
• Bestmed recorded a solvency ratio of 41.7% (2021: 45.68%) and total assets of R4.9 billion (2021: 4.8 billion) as at 31 December 2022.

“Increases in the Scheme’s reserves since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, meant that we could give back to our members via a low average weighted contribution increase in 2022. This, coupled with the enrichment of benefit options, reduction in member co-payments and the increase in claims resulted in Scheme reserves being used to pay member healthcare claims, which was the goal – to give back to our members. The reserves remain healthy and are monitored together with claims to ensure that the Scheme maintains its strong financial position,” says Leo Dlamini, Bestmed’s Chief Executive Officer and Principal Officer.

No motions were raised to be addressed by the Board.

The sustainable growth of Bestmed over the past few years attests to the efforts of the Scheme’s employees and, of course, Bestmed’s healthcare advisors and healthcare providers to provide excellent service to members.