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 and their dependents. 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 outlined herein represent the U.S. dollar value of the monthly premiums for the 2026 plan year and are subject to change based on currency conversion fluctuations. These rates will become effective in April 2026, prior to that, the 2025 rates will remain applicable. 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
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$175 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$136/mo Child: ~$69/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$175/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Hospital admissions: Smart Network only
Out-patient: Unlimited GP consultations with R75 co-payment for each consultation
Additional: Cover for sports-related injuries (basic x-rays, specialists, physiotherapist visits)
For more detailed information on the Classic Smart Plan, please refer this guide.
Classic Delta Saver
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$221 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$175/mo Child: ~$89/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$221/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Hospital admissions: Delta Network only
Out-patient: R8,688
No additional out-patient cover
For more detailed information on the Classic Delta Saver Plan, please refer this guide.
Classic Saver
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$277 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$219/mo Child: ~$111/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$277/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Out-patient: R10,872
No additional out-patient cover
For more detailed information on the Classic Saver Plan, please refer this guide.
Classic Priority
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$355 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$280/mo Child: ~$142/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$355/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Out-patient: R17,376
Additional out-patient cover: R9,370
For more detailed information on the Classic Priority Plan, please refer this guide.
Classic Comprehensive
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$575 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$544/mo Child: ~$114/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$544/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Cancer cover: R500,000,
Chronic Conditions: 62
Out-patient: R27,876
Additional out-patient cover: R35,000
For more detailed information on the Classic Comprehensive Plan, please refer this guide.
Plan
Classic Smart
Price
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$175 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$136/mo Child: ~$69/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$175/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: Smart Network only
Out-patient: Unlimited GP consultations with R75 co-payment for each consultation
Additional: Cover for sports-related injuries (basic x-rays, specialists, physiotherapist visits)
For more detailed information on the Classic Smart Plan, please refer this guide.
Plan
Classic Delta Saver
Price
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$221 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$175/mo Child: ~$89/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$221/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: Delta Network only
Out-patient: R8,688
No additional out-patient cover
For more detailed information on the Classic Delta Saver Plan, please refer this guide.
Plan
Classic Saver
Price
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$277 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$219/mo Child: ~$111/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$277/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Out-patient: R10,872
No additional out-patient cover
For more detailed information on the Classic Saver Plan, please refer this guide.
Plan
Classic Priority
Price
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$355 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$280/mo Child: ~$142/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$355/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Out-patient: R17,376
Additional out-patient cover: R9,370
For more detailed information on the Classic Priority Plan, please refer this guide.
Plan
Classic Comprehensive
Price
Price & Coverage Options
You pay:
- Employee Only: ~$575 USD/mo
- Family coverage: Spouse: ~$544/mo Child: ~$114/mo
(If you select Family coverage, you will cover the cost of all dependents added by your employees. If dependents aren't added, the cost remains at the employee-only rate of ~$544/mo).
Employee pays:
- If you cover the Employee Only, the employee is responsible for the cost of any dependents added to the policy.
- For Family coverage, the employee pays nothing.
Unique Feature
Hospital admissions: All hospitals
Cancer cover: R500,000,
Chronic Conditions: 62
Out-patient: R27,876
Additional out-patient cover: R35,000
For more detailed information on the Classic Comprehensive Plan, please refer this guide.
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.