Bad news for anyone with medical aid in South Africa

The latest inflation data from Stats SAs shows that medical aid prices in the country have skyrocketed over the last year, with no signs of slowing down.

Annual consumer price inflation was 3.2% in February, remaining unchanged from January. The monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.9% in February.

Despite being at the lower end of its 3% to 6% target range, the Reserve Bank is unlikely to cut interest rates tomorrow.

Stats SA said that recreation, sport and culture, food and non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and communication recorded higher annual rates in February.

Inflation cooled for several products, such as personal care and miscellaneous services, health, restaurants and accommodation, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance, and transport.

However, Stats SA surveyed medical insurance (medical aid premiums) and health services in February, highlighting the increased healthcare cost.

Medical aid premiums increased by 10.5% this year, up from an already high 10.3% increase in 2024.

Medical services rose by 6.1% compared with a 5.0% rise last year. General practitioner’s fees increased by 6.6% and dentist prices were up by 5.2%.

South Africa’s largest medical aid schemes announced massive price increases in 2025. Discovery, the nation’s largest medical aid scheme, increased by a weighted average of 9.3% for 2025.

Discovery’s increase was the smallest of the four largest private healthcare players, with increases ranging from 9.3% to 10.8%:

• MediHelp: 10.8%
• Bonitas: 10.2%
• Momentum: 9.4%
• Discovery: 9.3%

Discovery CEO Adrian Gore recently said more young people are putting off medical aid due to the high costs.

However, he warned that the increased age profile of schemes leads to a disproportionate number of chronic illness claims, driving up medical aid prices above inflation.

Other increases

Stats SA said that the annual rate for food & NAB reached a four-month peak in February, rising to 2.8% from 2.3% in January.

Fruit & nuts, vegetables, hot beverages, seafood, meat and cereals recorded higher rates, while cold beverages; milk, dairy & eggs; oils & fats; and sugar, confectionery & desserts saw slower increases.

Worryingly, maize meal inflation reached a 17-month high and samp a 19-month high. The price index for maize meal increased by an annual 10.6% and samp by 18.7%.

Stats SA said that these increases are driven by inflationary pressures in the production chain. The latest PPI showed that annual farm inflation for maize was 64.7%.

Maize meal is an important and relatively cheap source of food for many low-income households, with increases having a disproportionate impact on them.

On average, consumer prices for meat were stable in February, with the monthly and annual rate change remaining at 0%.

However, inflation for hot beverages continues to accelerate, with the annual price change hitting 14.6% in February, up from 13.7% in January.

Instant coffee recorded an annual rate of 19.0%, the highest in half a year. The rate for black tea was 12,4%.

The graphs below show food and beverage products that registered notable price changes in February.

Outside of food, fuel prices jumped between January and February, taking the annual rate from -4.5% to 3.6%.

Although the price for inland 95-octane petrol increased from R21,59 in January to R22.41 in February, the price is still lower than it was a year ago (R23.24).