COVID-19 tests and treatment will not deplete funds on your Health Squared Medical Scheme

Health Squared Medical Scheme has assured its customers that the COVID-19 tests and treatment will not deplete their medical aid.

“We have made provision for the full cost of COVID-19 diagnostics to be covered from the risk pool, rather than from members’ savings for at-risk members. Treatment for COVID-19 will also, of course, be fully covered from risk,” said Health Squared principal officer, David Smith.

Members at risk for COVID-19 will have the costs of testing for the viral infection covered irrespective of the results, as well as any associated treatments if the test comes back positive. “This means that all claims will be paid from the scheme’s pool of funds reserved for risk benefits, which means that your medical savings account will not be affected,” Smith said.

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According to Smith, this makes Health Squared one of the very few schemes, if not the only scheme, that has committed to funding diagnostic procedures from risk, irrespective of the results.

This benefit is accessible to the following members:

• Those who have returned from a high-risk area within the last 14 days, or
• Have been in contact with a confirmed Coronavirus patient, and
• Are showing potential symptoms, as confirmed by a medical doctor.

“The information available through the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates that the majority of people who contract COVID-19 will recover fully within a few weeks. So far, global trends indicate that approximately one in five people who fall ill with COVID-19 could require hospitalisation,” added Dr Jacques Snyman, medical director of Agility Health, the scheme’s administrator and managed care provider.

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Health Squared Medical Scheme has provided the following tips to combat the spread of Coronavirus:

• Wash your hands properly with soap and preferably hot water for 20 seconds
• Regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces like door handles, cell phones, fingerprint recognition systems, cupboard doors, access keypads etc
• Avoid close contact with others, especially if a person is showing signs of respiratory illness, such as coughing or sneezing
• Avoid touching your face as the mouth, nose and eyes are places where the virus can easily enter the body
• People with chronic illnesses must keep up their treatment

“For most people, it is likely that the experience of COVID-19 illness will be similar to that of falling ill with influenza. There is certainly no need to panic, however, it is important that we take basic precautions and incorporate these behaviours into our everyday lives,” Snyman concluded.

To learn more about COVID-19 visit www.who.int; www.cdc.gov and www.nicd.ac.za

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