Bestmed Medical Scheme, the fourth-largest open medical scheme and largest self-administered medical scheme in the country, has been honoured News24 Medical Scheme of the Year award, at the 2024 News24 Business Awards.
These awards recognise client-satisfaction scores surveyed from more than 4 000 subscribers, along with their assessment of the offering, among other criteria, and covering multiple sectors, including banking, insurance and health care.
Focused on a range of criteria, including customers’ satisfaction with key issues such as costs, and client service and claims, the awards also consider the company’s transparency/ communication with clients, overall contribution to South Africa, shareholder value creation and business performance.
These elements are also evaluated by News24’s financial reporters as well as fund managers and analysts, with results ultimately audited by an actuarial consultant.
This year Bestmed took the coveted Medical Scheme Award notably because of the outstanding feedback from its clients in a survey of thousands of News24 readers, especially when it came to its claim process and communication. News24 journalists also gave Bestmed a very high score for how easy it is to understand what is covered and for value for money.
“Bestmed is truly proud to be named Medical Scheme of the Year, particularly based on criteria that are so client-focused,” says Leo Dlamini, CEO and Principal Officer of Bestmed Medical Scheme. “These awards celebrate the best in corporate South Africa, and we are pleased to have been recognised for our efforts in this space. We have always believed in great member experience, value for money offerings and making a difference in the communities in which we operate.”
Awards of this nature are nothing new to the scheme, which has received many similar accolades in recent years. Bestmed was voted, for a second successive time, as the leader in the South African medical scheme industry when it came to customer satisfaction, according to the most recent SA Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi).
Last year Bestmed also received the Board of Health Funders’ Titanium Award for Excellence in Creating Access to Quality Health Care – this, for the third consecutive time. Bestmed was also voted number 1 in 2020 and 2022, and second in 2023 for customer experience in the Ask Afrika Orange Index® benchmark’s medical aid category.
“Members are at the centre of everything we do,” concluded Dlamini. “Our ‘Personally Yours’ promise is a commitment to providing our members with the highest quality service consistently, while also offering value for money. This award affirms our conviction and energises us to maintain the focus on member experience and value-for-money offerings. This will continue to set Bestmed apart.”
