{"id":843407,"date":"2025-12-03T07:32:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=843407"},"modified":"2025-12-03T07:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:32:18","slug":"predict-and-prevent-medshield-champions-predictive-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/843407\/predict-and-prevent-medshield-champions-predictive-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Predict and prevent \u2013 Medshield champions predictive healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Medshield Medical Scheme announced its benefit options and contributions for 2026, building on its Partner for Life offering with a strong member-centric theme of <em>Predict and Prevent<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHealthcare needs evolve as you progress through different stages of life, and understanding these changes is crucial for proactive and effective healthcare management. Besides supporting members and being the safety net for the unknown, we are also focussing on the importance of preventative healthcare,\u201d says Kevin Aron, Principal Officer of Medshield Medical Scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medshield.co.za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=in_article&amp;utm_campaign=medshield_campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here to learn more about Medshield Medical Scheme.<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medshield.co.za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=in_article&amp;utm_campaign=medshield_campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Medshield\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> annual benefit limits and member contribution increases remain prudent and consistent. The 2026 benefits balance affordability, improve members&#8217; access to quality healthcare and confirm Medshield\u2019s strong position as a viable and sustainable medical scheme, as evidenced by the latest <strong>upgraded AA with a stable outlook GCR rating<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2026 benefit offering is marked by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>New innovative benefit additions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increases in benefit limits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The removal and reduction of co-payments to minimise out-of-pocket expenses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A lower-than-average contribution adjustment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThrough structured benefits, targeted education, and provider partnerships, we are ensuring that members have access to the kind of innovative healthcare that doesn&#8217;t just treat illness, it helps avoid it altogether. Thus, predicting and preventing illness at every life stage,&#8221; adds Aron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Predict and Prevent: Better healthcare outcomes start today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We can&#8217;t control every turn life takes, but our health decisions matter. Many people delay seeing a doctor until symptoms appear, making treatment more complicated, costly, and time-consuming. By acting early and focusing on <em>prevention,<\/em> people can improve their health and quality of life. As medical costs continue to rise, predictive and preventative care is the smartest way to stay healthy and manage healthcare related expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt Medshield, we know that safeguarding members&#8217; health is key to unlocking their future potential. That&#8217;s why in 2026, Medshield has enhanced specific benefit limits on all options &#8211; refining our existing plans to serve members\u2019 evolving needs better. Keeping the interests of our members in mind, we were also able to limit our average weighted contribution increase to <strong>just 7.5%, <\/strong>with 71.6% of Medshield\u2019s membership enjoying a <strong>7% increase<\/strong>,&#8221; shares Aron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New benefits added to Medshield\u2019s basket of options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the new benefits added to Medshield\u2019s 2026 benefit portfolio include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embracing innovation, <strong>diabetes prevention <\/strong>has stepped up dramatically:<ul><li><strong>Diabetic retinal eye screening<\/strong> offers members a vital solution for early detection and preventative care.<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM<\/strong>) highlights proactive chronic care. Members up to age 18 can now use CGM to manage diabetes with more accuracy. The Freestyle Libre system provides parents and caregivers with real-time readings, instant alerts, and peace of mind to act quickly and keep kids safe.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medshield.co.za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=in_article&amp;utm_campaign=medshield_campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Medshield<\/a><\/strong> now covers <strong>annual<\/strong> <strong>mammogram screenings from age 30 on all options. <\/strong>This allows earlier detection and improves breast cancer outcomes.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From 2026, members can have an <strong>eye test every year<\/strong>, covered from risk. The Scheme also substantially improved the annual limit for frames, lenses, or contacts, giving members more freedom of choice.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medshield members now get extra<strong> Virtual Care General Practitioner benefits<\/strong> paid from risk across all options, in addition to the <strong>enhanced in-person GP consultation benefit<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <strong>refined mental health benefit<\/strong> offers access to quality care, support and sustainable interventions that promote long-term well-being.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Healthcare that works better, not harder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are a stable organisation with a selection of affordable, member-centric benefit plans to cover members&#8217; individual needs as they navigate through life. In 2026, we will continue providing the excellent benefit options and service that our members have come to expect and will support prediction and prevention to the benefit of our members,\u201d states Aron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe know that not every health risk can be prevented \u2013 but many can be managed more effectively when identified early resulting in a better quality of life. Our focus remains simple: helping our members stay healthier, for longer &#8211; thereby ensuring that healthcare works better, not harder,&#8221; concludes Aron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medshield.co.za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=in_article&amp;utm_campaign=medshield_campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here to learn more about Medshield Medical Scheme.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medshield Medical Scheme announced its benefit options and contributions for 2026, building on its Partner for Life offering with a strong member-centric theme of Predict and Prevent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":845326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[11240,17595,17357],"class_list":["post-843407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-healthcare","tag-medshield","tag-medshield-medical-scheme"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843407"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":845328,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843407\/revisions\/845328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}