Discovery Health announces 2027 contribution increases

Discovery Health Medical Scheme members face contribution increases of between 7.4% and 8.9% from January 2027, subject to approval by the Council for Medical Schemes.

The scheme has also announced a new lower-cost family-oriented option, Active Core, which will launch on 1 January.

Michael Libera, reporting for BusinessTech, said the weighted average increase across Discovery Health’s plans would be 8.2%, while the scheme expects about two-thirds of beneficiaries to receive increases of less than 8%.

Active Smart, aimed at younger and generally healthier individuals and couples, will have the lowest increase at 7.4%, taking the monthly contribution to R1,450 per member.

The Smart plan, excluding Active Smart, will increase by 7.9%. Smart Saver and most Core and Saver options will also rise by 7.9%, while Coastal Saver will increase by 8.4%.

Contributions to KeyCare, Coastal Core, Priority, Comprehensive and Executive will rise by 8.9%.

Active Core is intended for families looking for private medical cover at a lower contribution level. Discovery said contributions would start at R1,700 a month for a principal member and R1,550 for an adult dependant.

Child dependants will cost R500 each, which Discovery described as the lowest contribution for children in the open medical scheme market.