NetcarePlus today unveiled a set of enhancements to its health cover portfolio, extending protection to South Africans outside traditional medical scheme cover and to scheme members facing growing out-of-pocket costs.
South Africa’s medical scheme penetration has fallen from 16.4% in 2013 to 14.6% in 2024, according to the Council for Medical Schemes. Research from the Bureau of Market Research shows approximately three million households earning more than R10,000 a month remain outside medical scheme cover. Health cover inflation has consistently run about three percentage points above headline CPI over the past decade, according to Stats SA data, placing sustained pressure on household affordability.
“The healthcare sector in South Africa is shifting faster than most funding models can match,” said Dr Richard Friedland, Group CEO of Netcare. “Fewer South Africans belong to traditional medical schemes, healthcare costs keep climbing ahead of inflation, and our population continues to age. NetcarePlus was built to answer that shift directly, and today’s enhancements take that answer further.”
The 2027 enhancements add three new benefits to the NetcarePlus range. Cancer cover and Funeral cover now extend to all NetcarePlus members, while GapCare members gain access to a new Scheme-Excluded Procedures benefit, designed to close a gap that has become one of the most common sources of unexpected medical expense for scheme members. PrimaryCare and GapCare have both been enhanced, alongside the existing EmergencyCare, BabyCare and EmployeeCare benefits.
“Every enhancement in this year’s range comes directly from what brokers and clients have told us,” said Teshlin Akaloo, Managing Director of NetcarePlus. “A health event touches far more than a person’s medical bills. It reaches income, savings and family responsibilities. Our product development stays grounded in that reality, and the 2027 range closes more of those gaps.”
NetcarePlus draws its credibility from its position inside the Netcare Group, which operates 49 hospitals and works with more than 5,000 practising specialists across the country. Its products are underwritten by established insurers, including Omart Insure and Hollard, and the business has recorded 57% annual compound growth over the past three years, alongside a 95% claims accuracy rate.
“NetcarePlus puts healthcare delivery at the centre of what it offers, with insurance built around it,” said Melanie Da Costa, Group CEO Designate of Netcare. “That focus matters more than ever as South Africans look for cover that understands their actual healthcare needs, alongside their premiums.”
NetcarePlus was voted the No. 1 medical insurance brand in the Ask Afrika Orange Index® 2024/2025, a benchmark of customer satisfaction and service quality in South Africa.
The enhanced range was unveiled at an event held at Hotel Sky, Sandton, bringing together media, brokers and healthcare partners for a closer look at the products and the research behind them.
