Remote Benefits:
South Africa: Local Medical Aid Plans
Remote builds belonging for your global team with comprehensive local plans at competitive rates.
Discovery Medical Aid plan options
In South Africa, employers can extend local Medical Aid plans to their team members. These benefits are optional, however, if you choose to offer a benefit, it will be offered to all of your team members in the country. All plans are covering for the following:
In-patient Treatments: 200%*
Maternity: Yes
International Emergency Cover: R5 million
Cancer Cover: R250,000 (except Comprehensive)
Chronic Conditions: 27 conditions covered (except Comprehensive)
*For in-patient treatments, Discovery Health covers up to 200% of the Discovery Health Rate (DHR), a benchmark for reimbursing hospital and procedure costs.
Explore the network of hospitals covered by the Medical Aid scheme here.
The rates provided here represent the dollar value of the monthly premiums for the 2025 plan year and may be subject to fluctuations in conversion rates. Pricing and benefits are subject to change in response to business and market changes and we will update you when those changes take place. You can email support@remote.com with any questions!
Plan
Price
Unique Feature
Classic Smart
~$160 USD/mo
Hospital admissions: Smart Network only, Out-patient: General Practitioner, Additional: Sports injury benefit, Spouse Cost: $126, Child Cost: $64
Classic Delta Saver
~$205 USD/mo
Hospital admissions: Delta Network only, Out-patient: R8,688, No additional out-patient coverage, Spouse Cost: $162, Child Cost: $82
Classic Saver
~$256 USD/mo
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Out-patient: R10,872, No additional out-patient coverage, Spouse Cost: $203, Child Cost: $103
Classic Priority
~$328 USD/mo
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Out-patient: R17,376, Additional: R9,370, Spouse Cost: $260, Child Cost: $131
Classic Comprehensive
~$525 USD/mo
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Cancer cover: R500,000, Chronic Conditions: 62, Out-patient: R27,876, Additional: R35,000, Spouse Cost: $500, Child Cost: $105
Plan
Classic Smart
Price
~$160 USD/mo
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: Smart Network only, Out-patient: General Practitioner, Additional: Sports injury benefit, Spouse Cost: $126, Child Cost: $64
Plan
Classic Delta Saver
Price
~$205 USD/mo
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: Delta Network only, Out-patient: R8,688, No additional out-patient coverage, Spouse Cost: $162, Child Cost: $82
Plan
Classic Saver
Price
~$256 USD/mo
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Out-patient: R10,872, No additional out-patient coverage, Spouse Cost: $203, Child Cost: $103
Plan
Classic Priority
Price
~$328 USD/mo
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Out-patient: R17,376, Additional: R9,370, Spouse Cost: $260, Child Cost: $131
Plan
Classic Comprehensive
Price
~$525 USD/mo
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals, Cancer cover: R500,000, Chronic Conditions: 62, Out-patient: R27,876, Additional: R35,000, Spouse Cost: $500, Child Cost: $105
Remote's Benefits Practices
Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent in South Africa! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in.
Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. We do not require customers to offer Medical Aid benefits in South Africa due to its public system and local laws that protect us (and you!) against claims of discriminatory hiring practices. However, we do recommend that employers in South Africa offer benefits to their team members, which allows them to access a wider range of options for providers and specialists as well as significantly shorter wait times. We do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.
If you would like more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, you can download our Global Benefits Guide here!
- Healthcare in South Africa: The South African healthcare system consists of subsidized public sector care and a smaller private sector (serving about 20% of the population). The best specialists can usually be found in the private sector and it is typical for professionals to obtain private health insurance.
- You will see benefits options for South Africa when onboarding your employee. From there, the employee will be enrolled and contacted with more information about their plan. Remote takes care of all the administration work so you can focus on scaling your global team!
TCE in South Africa
If you’re ready to hire a new employee in South Africa, you may have generated or received a Total Cost of Employment quote to get an estimate of what it might cost. If you haven’t, you can do so with our handy Cost Calculator tool now!
Employers hiring in South Africa must pay for social contributions mandated by the government. These costs are automatically applied during payroll:
- Skills Development Levy
- Unemployment Insurance Fund
The exact cost of the contributions listed above can be found by using the Cost Calculator.
- For more information about hiring employees in South Africa, see our country hiring guide at https://remote.com/country-explorer/south-africa.
Learn more about Remote benefits
How do benefits work when hiring through an EOR?
Watch this quick explainer video to understand how offering benefits works when you hire team members through an employer of record like Remote.