My wife was feeling a little queasy over the past few days. After having been to India, we both decided that maybe it would be a good idea to get this checked out sooner rather than later (Malaria and Hepatitis being some of the nasties that one can pick up there) So we went off to the emergency rooms at Wilgeheuwel at 9pm at night. We arrived at the desk in the emergency are where the gent behind the desk asked us if we were on medical aid. The answer is yes and no. We are on a hospital plan with Discover for a few reasons.
We downgraded ourselves as we never used up the out of hospital benefits and were wasting money paying for it
We dont have children who “eat” through that benefit as many people who have children do
We have resorted to saving the difference on a monthly basis so that we can pay for any of our medical bills cash.
So, upon telling the gent that we would be paying cash, he informed us that we would have to put down a R 600.00 deposit to be able to see the doctor and then the doctors fees and other sundries would be deducted off this, but the bill could be up to R 900.00 – RIDICULOUS. We left and went to Flora Clinic where a far more reasonable R 270.00 was charged and the total bill was R 344.00 after seeing the doctor.
So, how about a solution. Why dont the hospitals put in a system whereby they can instantly check my credit rating and see if I am a good “risk” to them or not. This could be done on a card basis, and with one swipe it could check me to see what deposit I need to put down.
If I am a good risk, then maybe R 200.00 is appropriate
If I am a mediocre risk then R 300.00 down
If I am a bad risk then R 1000.00 down
Just some suggestions, sadly for Wilgeheuwel, they lost my business and to be honest, I wont go back there again for any emergency. Surely thse guys need to understand how technology can benefit them today. Comments!
Innovation in the healthcare sector Please!!
