Medical aid guides
Last checked: 1 November 2026
Plain, step-by-step guides to the admin side of South African medical aid: how to leave or move to a cheaper option without getting caught out, what the law says about waiting periods, and what to do if your scheme won't sort out a problem.
What this section covers
- Cancelling or downgrading your medical aid membership: notice periods, when option changes are allowed, what to ask your scheme in writing, and what happens to your savings.
- Waiting periods and late-joiner penalties: what a new scheme may (and may not) impose if you move, and why a gap in cover can cost you later.
- Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs): an overview of the minimum cover every registered scheme must provide (coming later).
- Complaints to the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS): how to escalate when your scheme's own process hasn't fixed things (full guide coming later; overview in the cancel guide).
What this section does not do
- We don't recommend schemes, options or brokers, and we don't compare which plan is "best" for you. Choosing cover is a financial decision. If you want personal advice, use a financial adviser authorised by the FSCA (you can check an adviser on the FSCA's public register) or speak to the scheme directly.
- We don't give medical advice.
- We don't sell anything and we don't earn commission from schemes or brokers.
Guides
| Guide | Status | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| How to cancel or downgrade your medical aid (general guide) | Available | 1 November 2026 |
| Discovery Health Medical Scheme: cancel or change option | Planned | — |
| Momentum Medical Scheme: cancel or change option | Planned | — |
| Bonitas Medical Fund: cancel or change option | Planned | — |
| Fedhealth Medical Scheme: cancel or change option | Planned | — |
| Waiting periods and late-joiner penalties, explained | Planned | — |
| Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs): what every scheme must cover | Planned | — |
| How to complain to the Council for Medical Schemes | Planned | — |
Official sources we rely on
- Council for Medical Schemes (CMS): the statutory regulator for medical schemes. Complaints: complaints procedure.
- Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998 (CMS copy, PDF) and section 29A on waiting periods (Acts Online).
- Each scheme's own registered rules and forms (linked on the individual guides).
General information only, not legal, financial or medical advice. SA How-To is independent and not affiliated with the Council for Medical Schemes or any medical scheme, administrator or broker. Your scheme's registered rules and your own membership documents are what actually apply to you. Check the linked sources before you act.