Hippo is a price comparison site that offers comparative Hippo gap cover quotes too. Here’s why you should use it.
You are a member of a medical scheme and you rightly have the peace of mind that comes with not having to use your savings to foot your medical bills. However, you need to know that often times, especially when you seek the services of a specialist, that your scheme may not fully cover the cost of treatment. This is usually also the case when it comes to certain medical procedures.
What medical schemes pay out is predicated on a medical scheme rate set by the Council for Medical Schemes. Even though what your scheme will pay out will usually be more than this base rate, it may not suffice to fully cover your medical expenses. Some specialists will charge up to five times the medical scheme rate. If you’re relying solely on your medical scheme cover in such a case, you will be left with a steep mountain to climb in terms of clearing your bills.
Costs for surgical procedures like hip replacement surgery can be pretty steep and may actually turn out to be higher because of the complexity involved.Then there are scans and scopes that are performed as part of in-hospital treatment which are not catered for by your scheme. Lastly, there are some schemes that require members to make a co-payment whenever they seek treatment.
Where Hippo Gap Cover Comes In
Gap Cover then provides a way for you to bridge the gap between what your medical scheme pays out when you get treated and your actual medical bills.If your scheme requires you to make a co-payment whenever you seek outpatient treatment, gap cover will help you avoid paying out of your own pocket.
When it comes to the cost of treatment, gap cover will usually be paid out as a percentage of what your medical scheme has remitted towards your bills. Usually this will be 200 percent or 500 percent of your medical scheme rate. Let’s see how this plays out in a real world scenario. Say you’ve undergone surgery to implant a prosthetic limb, the cost of which is R25,000. But your scheme only covers you up to R7,000 for such a procedure, leaving you with a shortfall of R18,000 to pay from your pocket.
If your gap cover pays out twice the medical scheme rate, it will pay out R14,000, leaving you with just R11,000 to pay. If your gap cover will pay up to 500 percent the medical scheme rate, it will pay out R35,000. In this case you won’t have to pay a dime from your pocket.
Before You Take Up Gap Cover… Check Hippo Gap Cover
Great an idea as Gap Cover is, there are some considerations you need to take into account before you sign the dotted line. You first need to find out the rate your medical scheme uses to pay out claims. 100 percent of the medical scheme rate is the bare minimum. You also need to know the instances where your medical aid scheme requires you or your beneficiaries to make co-payments when seeking treatment. Another important consideration is the waiting period imposed by the gap cover provider.
Hippo gap cover is does comparison of the offerings of various gap cover providers to help you make the right choice.
For a gap cover quote use the form on this page. Don’t forget to submit it.