LIDWALA’S E200/MONTH FOR PRIVATE HEALTHCARE

EZULWINI – Game changer!

Private healthcare will no longer be the privilege of affluent families and individuals following the launch Lidwala Health, which has introduced medical aid products that are set to change the country’s health insurance industry. Dubbed the future of healthcare, Lidwala Health - a subsidiary of Lidwala Insurance Company - yesterday introduced a range of products, among which is one that will ensure access to private healthcare for even low income earners. For a mere E200 a month, a person can now receive treatment at a healthcare facility owned by one of the country’s most reputable private healthcare companies - The Clinic Group.

This product is known as the ‘Essential Plan’ and is one of two under what has been termed the Capitation Option. Ntokozo Ndzabukelwako, the General Manager (GM) Health at Lidwala Insurance, explained that the Capitation Option was accessible from a very limited number of service providers. He said the Capitation Option was arrived at after careful consideration was given to the fact that the typical medical aid rates in Eswatini, worse in South Africa, in as far as how much a principal member was supposed to pay, was quite high.

Subsidies

He said in most cases those who could afford the medical aid rates was because they received subsidies from their employers. “But the ordinary person out there is not able to access the facility of private medical aid because of the cost. For us to be able to be all-inclusive, as we were looking at products that will go into the market and be accessible by the market, to be able to speak to the ordinary person who is paying the medical aid 100 per cent out of his pocket, we then had to be very strategic about that,” the Ndzabukelwako said.

Provider

The GM said they therefore found a service provider locally, The Clinic Group, that is contracted to Lidwala Health to provide the capitation product.
“The beauty of The Clinic Group is that they’ve got presence through three major hospitals; one in Manzini, one in Matsapha and one in Mbabane. So it gives you at least three access points that you can access the products from,” he stated. He pointed out that the first product under the Capitation Option, which is the Essential Pan, is basically a primary care product.

“By this we mean basic care; you get things like unlimited access to The Clinic Group in terms of nurses’ consultation and whatever prescription they give you they will give you the medication needed. We also cover six chronic conditions on it which come with the medication of the chronic condition that is covered in that capitation product. On top of that you do get basic x-rays. All of that is from as little as E200 a month, which, in our view is very affordable for you to be able to access private healthcare and the ability for you to have access to The Clinic Group in an unlimited fashion especially on your nurse consultation,” Ndzabukelwako said.

The six chronic conditions included in this cover are high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, high cholesterol, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.Also, the GM said he was sure that everyone who was familiar with medical aid was aware that there were instances where members would run out of their over-the-counter, which is the pharmacy medication, but in this arrangement entered into with The Clinic Group they would be able to see a nurse for consultation anytime.“This will lessen the time employees have to go and queue the whole day in hospital for treatment, as they will have unlimited access to private healthcare or medical aid facilities,” he said.

Represented

This product has been well received by the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi, who was represented by the Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula. She said the ministry remained grateful to Lidwala Health for developing a health product that will be all-inclusive and affordable. “Such a product will increase the population covered by health insurance thus moving towards universal health coverage. We are aware that the percentage of the population covered by private health insurance is currently low estimated around 10 per cent due to issues around affordability,” the minister said.
Besides the Essential Plan, the Capitation Option also offers another product known as Comprehensive Plan. This is similar to the Essential Plan except that there is a E100 000 in-patient hospitalisation portion that has been added to it. It also provides the member with access to consult a general practitioner (GP/doctor).

“On top of that, we’ve also increased the number of chronic conditions to nine as opposed to six in the Essential Plan. This one is also very affordable at E800 per principal member. It will appeal to the nation and give people access to private healthcare and private medical aid,” Ndzabukelwako said.
The nine chronic diseases included in this cover are high blood pressure, heart failure, high cholesterol, asthma, COPD, reflux disease, osteoarthritis, depression and diabetes.

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