Industry news: Telemed targets the emerging market

TeleMed Executive for Human Resources and Compliance, Seabelo Pilane says the company's black membership base is increasing by 30 percent per year.

Membership currently stands at nearly 27 000 principal members and grows at more than ten percent per year.

“Historically black people did not belong to medical schemes and it is a welcome development that has changed at rapid pace of the last couple of years. The fact that the participation of black people in South Africa's formal employment market has increased dramatically over the past thirteen years has a marked influence on this. On the other hand, TeleMed's restructuring of its benefit options makes healthcare a manageable commodity that meets peoples' needs and budget.”

Pilane says TeleMed currently offers its members and the market five benefit options to choose from - Platinum, Gold, Gold Select, Silver and Bronze - each unique in terms of benefit offering and price.

“Of these, the Silver Option is particularly well-suited for the younger career-orientated professional while the Bronze Option is very popular with new entrants into the work-force.

Add to this the fact that we grant full pregnancy benefits without the limitation of a waiting period if the member joins while pregnant.

We are making inroads into the younger, professional market for whom emotional and critical benefits such as pregnancy are important, as it is part of their life and career planning.

Younger working women need to be assured that when they are pregnant while joining a medical scheme, the scheme will take care of their healthcare needs during this period. For TeleMed it was important to ensure that we capture and retain this market – hence the decision to offer full pregnancy benefits. If we can capture this very important mothers' market at this important and emotional phase in their lives, giving them ultimate peace of mind including good benefit cover and value added features like a pregnancy program that will soon be launched, the chances are good that these decision makers are yours forever.”

Pilane says the scheme follows an open communication policy and has cordial relations with major labour unions.

“Although celebrating a new refreshed brand and our 85th year of existence, we are part and parcel of South Africa's democracy. For example, people talk easily about social health care, particularly for senior citizens and vulnerable, as is the case in many developed countries. However, it is critical that people realise that a social health care system is the result of a long, established culture of belonging to some form of medical scheme. As the financial burden is less, this enables governments to implement social health care services, particularly for the aged and previously disadvantaged.

Only some seven million people in South Africa enjoy medical health care coverage. If one takes into account that we have some 47 million people in our country, you realise that it is virtually impossible for the government to even start talking about basic health care. Add to this the fact that South Africa has elements of a first-world economy superimposed on a third-world environment, one is humbled by the magnitude of what the government even has to attempt in the field of health care.

With its unique benefit offering that caters for most economic and social levels in our country, I believe TeleMed is paving the way for a social healthcare system, as it makes healthcare services more affordable for a larger spectrum of the community. As fewer people become dependent on government-funded healthcare systems, the more efficient a social healthcare system will become. We are proud that we play a role in this development,” says Pilane.