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Thank you for giving us the opportunity to look after your healthcare cover needs. You can have peace of mind that Discovery Health places our members first with a focus on comprehensive benefits, value for money and services to improve the quality of care available to our members. Our substantial scheme reserves give you complete confidence that your medical scheme will be able to pay your claims not just today but over the long term. The Scheme enjoys an AA+ rating for its claims paying ability from independent rating agency, Global Credit Ratings. This is the highest rating a medical scheme can achieve and reflects the schemes sound financial position and the security we provide to you. We are proud that all Discovery Health members have access to the broadest and best level of healthcare cover available in the market. In addition to excellent benefits, Discovery Health continues to invest heavily in our people and technology to ensure that we deliver world-class service to our members, through our call centres and walk-in centres around the country, and through our deployment of well-trained Discovery staff to assist our members when in hospital or facing difficult diagnoses, such as cancer. In an effort to further increase value and improve the quality of care and service convenience for our members, Discovery Health will continue to expand the services we will offer members in 2012. Our Discovery MedXpress service is now operational nationally for the delivery of chronic medicines to your home or workplace, and we will extend this service to all other prescription medicines during the course of 2012. Another innovation on this front is MedSaver, which brings you substantial savings of up to 25% on schedule 1 and 2 medicines. MedSaver is offered in partnership with Clicks and will be available in all Clicks stores from 2012. We have designed this guide to provide you with a summary of information on how to get the most out of your Discovery Health Plan. Youll find the Full Cover Choice stamp throughout the guide. It shows you when to use our range of online tools that help you choose full cover options for hospitalisation, specialists in hospital, chronic medicine and GP consultations. We are here to help and guide you in making the best choices when it comes to your healthcare. We look forward to looking after you and your family in 2012.
Discovery Health provides you with all the tools you need to know about your health plan and how to make the most of your cover.
Our scheme rules are available on our website This brochure is a summary of the benefits and features of your Discovery Health Medical Scheme Plan, pending formal approval from the Council for Medical Schemes. The rules of the Discovery Health Medical Scheme apply to your benefits. If you want to refer to the full set of scheme rules on which this brochure is based, please email compliance@discovery.co.za or go to www.discovery.co.za The rules and benefits explained in this guide apply to the main member and the dependants registered on their scheme membership.
Kind regards
Contents
Summary of benefits .........................................................................................................................1 Cover for medical emergencies ..........................................................................................................2 Hospital Benefits ...............................................................................................................................3 Cover for chronic conditions and oncology .........................................................................................7 Out-of-hospital cover .........................................................................................................................8 General exclusions ...........................................................................................................................10 Important tips when claiming ..........................................................................................................10
Summary of benefits
The Hospital Benefit covers you if you are admitted to hospital and Discovery Health has confirmed your admission and treatment before you are admitted. You have cover for a list of chronic conditions and cover for cancer, HIV and AIDS. Your health benefits include cover for medical expenses while travelling in other countries. We pay your day-to-day expenses from the available money in your Medical Savings Account. We extend your day-to-day cover by paying for GP consultations through the Insured Network Benefit.
If you want to change your plan You can change to any other plan at the end of each year with effect from 1 January the following year, but not during the year. If you need advice on the appropriate Plan choice, please speak to your financial adviser before you decide to change your plan. Detailed explanations of our benefits are available on www.discovery.co.za or you can contact us.
Make the Full Cover Choice We offer you the choice to be covered in full for hospitalisation, specialists in hospital and chronic medicine. Look out for the Full Cover Choice stamp in this brochure. It shows you when to use our range of online tools that help guide you to full cover.
According to the Prescribed Minimum Benefits, you have the right to a guaranteed level of cover for a list of medical conditions and treatments even if your health plans benefits have run out. These benefits include cover for a list of 270 listed conditions, most emergency conditions and 27 listed chronic conditions, including HIV and AIDS. Medical schemes must provide cover for the diagnosis, treatment and cost of ongoing care for these conditions according to the Schemes rules and guidelines. In most cases, Discovery Health plans offer benefits which are far richer than the Prescribed Minimum Benefits. To find out how you can access Prescribed Minimum Benefits, go to www.discovery.co.za or contact us for more information.
make sure you understand the benefits you have on the plan you chose
The benefits explained in this brochure are provided by the Discovery Health Medical Scheme, registration number 1125, administered by Discovery Health (Pty) Ltd, registration number 1997/013480/07, an authorised financial services provider. In this document we refer to Discovery Health Medical Scheme (Pty) Ltd as Discovery Health.
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If you go to a casualty or emergency room and you are not admitted to hospital, we will pay the costs from your available day-to-day benefits. Some casualties charge a facility fee, which we do not cover.
Benefit tips...
Call 0860 999 911 in an emergency L et us know about your admission as soon as possible M ake sure you know how the International Travel Benefit works before going overseas
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Hospital benefits
We cover you in hospital for emergency and planned hospital admissions. There is no overall limit for hospital cover on your plan. Your approved hospital admission is subject to your available cover on your Plan. You can go to any private hospital for emergency and planned admissions.
Accounts from your doctor and other healthcare services Your doctor or treating healthcare professionals accounts are separate from the hospital account and are called related accounts. Related accounts include any account other than the hospital account. Examples of related accounts are the account from the admitting doctor, anaesthetist and any approved healthcare expenses, like radiology or pathology, which you incur during your hospital stay. Refer to the section on how we cover healthcare professionals for detailed information on how we cover related accounts. Please contact us before you receive treatment for which we have not confirmed your benefits or to extend your hospital stay.
Limits, clinical guidelines and policies apply to some healthcare services and procedures in hospital. How we pay the account from the hospital We cover you in a private hospital for emergency and planned hospital admissions that you have confirmed with us. We cover your hospital account (the ward and theatre fees) at the rate agreed with the hospital. You have cover for a general ward, not a private ward.
Going to hospital can be a stressful experience. Discoverys HospitalXpress makes your admission to hospital convenient and seamless. This service offers you express pre-admissions and online tools to authorise your admission and confirm your cover. HospitalXpress also connects you to select partners, bringing you a range of value-added services at the reduced prices youre accustomed to as a Discovery member.
Benefit tips...
You can access the MaPS Advisor on www.discovery.co.za to search for healthcare professionals who we have an agreement with
In-hospital benefits
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Benefit tips...
You must call us at least 48 hours before any planned procedure Y ou will be covered in full if you use doctors who we have an agreement with, relevant to your plan type G o to Do We Cover on www.discovery.co.za to find out more about our clinical rules and policies S ome treatments you receive while in hospital may need separate approval or benefit confirmation
If you do not confirm your admission, we will only pay 70% of the costs that we would normally cover. Please refer to cover for medical emergencies for more information.
In-hospital benefits
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Other healthcare professionals We cover GPs and other healthcare services up to 100% of the Discovery Health Rate. We cover radiology and pathology up to 100% of the Discovery Health Rate.
We pay the balance of the hospital account from your Hospital Benefit, up to 100% of the Discovery Health Rate. We pay the related accounts, which include the dental surgeons account, from your Hospital Benefit, up to 100% of the Discovery Health Rate. No overall dental limit There is no overall limit for dental treatment. We pay for all dental appliances, their placement and orthodontic treatment (including the related accounts for orthognathic surgery) at 100% of the Discovery Health Rate from your Medical Savings Account, as long as you have money available. Severe dental and oral surgery The Severe Dental and Oral Surgery Benefit covers a defined list of procedures, with upfront payments and no overall limits. This benefit is subject to authorisation and the Schemes rules and guidelines.
You can benefit by using healthcare professionals who we have an agreement with as we will cover their approved procedures in full
In-hospital benefits
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* If you join the medical scheme after January, you wont get the full limit because it is calculated by counting the remaining months in the year.
In-hospital benefits
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If you do not use healthcare professionals who we have an agreement with, you will have to pay part of the treatment costs yourself. Contact us for the latest copy of the treatment guidelines or go to www.discovery.co.za
Benefit tips...
Y ou must register on the DiscoveryCare programmes to access these benefits M ore details are available on www.discovery.co.za or you can contact us
Benefit tips...
Y ou must register for cover from the Chronic Illness Benefit. We offer you comprehensive cover for a list of conditions.
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The Insured Network Benefit ensures you have no gaps in cover for GPs
We extend your day-to-day cover through the Insured Network Benefit by paying GP consultation fees when you have spent your annual Medical Savings Account deposit. We cover your consultations if you go to a GP in our network. The maximum number of consultations that we cover for a single member and a family each year depends on your plan type:
Family 4 consultations
Your Medical Savings Account is an amount that you get at the beginning of the year or when you join Discovery Health. You have access to the full amount from day one.
This benefit only covers the consultation fee, we pay for any other healthcare services from your available day-to-day benefits. To find a GP in our network, use our MaPS Advisor on www.discovery.co.za or contact us.
* If you join the medical scheme after January, you wont get the full limit because it is calculated by counting the remaining months in the year. ** We count a maximum of three children when we calculate the annual Medical Savings Account amounts
Out-of-hospital cover
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Your cover for day-to-day healthcare services is limited to money in your Medical Savings Account
We pay for these healthcare services from your Medical Savings Account: GPs Specialists Allied healthcare professionals, like physiotherapists Radiology and pathology Dentistry Private nursing Prescribed and over-the-counter medicine External medical items Hearing aids Optical care MRI and CT scans: we pay the first R2 300 of your MRI or CT scan from your Medical Savings Account. We cover the balance of the scan from your Hospital Benefit up to the Discovery Health Rate. For conservative back and neck treatment, specific rules and limits may apply.
Benefit tips...
How to make the money in your Medical Savings Account go further: C hoose a GP in the Discovery Health GP Network C hoose a specialist who we have an agreement with U se generic medicines and dont pay for over-the-counter medicines (OTCs) from your MSA
Out-of-hospital cover
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General exclusions
Discovery Health has certain exclusions. We will not pay for healthcare services related to the following, except where stipulated as part of a defined benefit or under the Prescribed Minimum Benefits.
General exclusion list 1. Cosmetic procedures and treatments 2. Otoplasty for bat ears, Portwine stains and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) 3. Breast reductions or enlargements and gynaecomastia 4. Obesity 5. Frail care 6. Infertility 7. Wilfully self-inflicted illness or injury 8. Alcohol, drug or solvent abuse 9. Wilful and material violation of the law 10. Wilful participation in war, terrorist activity, riot, civil commotion, rebellion or uprising 11. Injuries sustained or healthcare services arising during travel to or in a country at war 12. Experimental, unproven or unregistered treatments or practices 13. Search and rescue 14. Any costs for which a third party is legally responsible We also do not cover the complications or the direct or indirect expenses that arise from any of the exclusions listed above, except where stipulated as part of a defined benefit or under the Prescribed Minimum Benefits. If we apply waiting periods because you have never belonged to a medical scheme or have had a break in membership of more than 90 days before joining Discovery Health, you will not have access to the Prescribed Minimum Benefits during your waiting periods. This includes cover for emergency admissions. The benefits outlined in this guide are a summary of the plans registered in the medical scheme rules. These benefits are reviewed annually and amended in line with the requirements of the Medical Schemes Act and also take into account the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act where it relates to the business of a medical scheme.
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