BestMed Medical Scheme vs Medshield
BestMed Medical Scheme versus Medshield compared and revealed.
We tested them side by side and verified their medical aid plans benefits, affordability, and much more.
This is a complete guide to BestMed and Medshield in South Africa.
👉 In this in-depth guide you’ll learn:
- ✅ What is a Medical Scheme?
- ✅ Which medical aid is the best for young families?
- ✅ Which medical aid is best for a young person?
- ✅ How to compare medical aids against each other?
- ✅ Which should you choose: BestMed or Medshield?
So if you’re ready to go “all in” with the BestMed versus Medshield in South Africa, this guide is for you.
👉 Let’s dive right in…
BestMed Medical Scheme vs Medshield Summary
Overall Comparison
| ✔️ Feature | 🥇 BestMed | 🥇 Medshield |
| General comparison | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Number of plans | 14 | 10 |
| Lowest premium | R1 736 (Rythm 1) | R1 821 (MediCurve) |
| Highest premium | R12 572 (Pace4) | R9 489 (Premium Plus) |
| Student Plan | No | No |
| Gap Cover | No, but referred to other providers | Medshield members can access gap cover through their brokers |
| Hospital plans | Yes | Yes |
| Maternity benefits | Yes | Yes |
| Number of members | 250 000 | 140 000 |
Plan benefits
| ✔️ Feature | 🥇 BestMed | 🥇 Medshield |
| Name of Plan | • Beat1 • Beat1 Network • Rhythm1 • Rhythm2 • Beat2 • Beat2 Network • Beat3 • Beat3 Network • Beat3 Plus • Pace1 • Beat4 • Pace2 • Pace3 • Pace4 | • PremiumPlus • MediBonus • MediSaver • MediPlus Prime • MediPlus Compact • MediCore • MediValue Prime • MediValue Compact • MediPhila • MediCurve |
| Price per plan | • Beat1: R2,523 • Beat1 Network: R2,269 • Rhythm1: R1,736 – R3,615 • Rhythm2: R2,747 – R3,516 • Beat2: R3,084 • Beat2 Network: R2,775 • Beat3: R4,514 • Beat3 Network: R4,062 • Beat3 Plus: R5,042 • Pace1: R5,934 • Beat4: R7,365 • Pace2: R8,766 • Pace3: R10,064 • Pace4: R12,572 | • PremiumPlus: R9 489 • MediBonus: R9 015 • MediSaver: R5 376 • MediPlus Prime: R5 436 MediPlus Compact: R4 938 • MediCore: R4 278 • MediValue Prime: R3 207 • MediValue Compact: R2 907 • MediPhila: R2 154 • MediCurve: R1 821.00 |
| GP Visits | Yes | Yes |
| GP in room visits | Yes | Yes |
| Specialist visits | Yes | Yes |
| Acute medication | Yes | Yes |
| Chronic medication | Yes | Yes |
| Basic pathology | Yes | Yes |
| Basic and emergency dentistry | Yes | Yes |
| Basic optometry | Yes | Yes |
| HIV benefit | Yes | Yes |
| Maternity benefit | Yes | Yes |
| Road accident claims | Yes | Yes |
BestMed Medical Scheme vs. Medshield
👉 Both BestMed and Medshield are known medical aid schemes that provide a comprehensive selection of tailored plans. Here, we compare in these two medical aid schemes to help you decide on the best option for your healthcare needs in 2026.
Which offers more affordable cover – BestMed or Medshield?
👉 While Medshield has the lowest premium of the two medical aids with its MediCurve plan, both medical aids offer a wide choice of plans. Plans with BestMed as well as Medshield are designed for individuals, young families, and pensioners.
Do both schemes offer gap cover?
👉 Gap coverage is a temporary insurance policy that offers shortfall coverage in cases where doctors and specialists demand more than what medical aid will cover.
👉 BestMed doesn’t have their own Gap cover. Once your savings are depleted, you have access to your day-to-day benefits. Therefore, you do not have to fund any gap.
👉 Medshield recommends that members take out gap cover and members can access gap cover through its brokers.
Do both schemes offer hospital plans?
👉 Yes, both BestMed and Medshield offer hospital plans. BestMed offers you a choice of only having hospital coverage with your plan or combining it with day-to-day expenses. BestMed hospital plans include unlimited emergency and planned operations. Wellness and preventative benefits are also available. It covers chronic medicines and hospital specialists.
👉 All of Medshield’s plans come with hospital plans that will pay for the costs of your care if you are admitted to the hospital, including ward costs, theatre fees, and accounts from other in-hospital providers like anesthesiologists or radiologists. All of its hospital plans are governed by the terms of the Scheme, pre-approval, case management, clinical guidelines, and the benefit choice you have selected.
Who is BestMed Medical Scheme?
👉 Bestmed was founded in 1964 and currently has more than 250 000 lives under its care. The Scheme is the largest self-administered scheme in South Africa and the fourth largest open medical scheme.
👉 BestMed has also been recognised for its outstanding contribution to the medical aid and healthcare industry and has received a number of awards. In 2020 and 2021 it received the highest rating for perceived quality, perceived value, customer service and customer loyalty in the Medical Scheme Industry Category in the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi). The scheme also received the highest rating for customer expectations and has the lowest rating in the industry for beneficiary complaints.
👉 Bestmed was ranked number one in the Medical Aid Industry performance category of the 2020 Ask Afrika Orange Index® and was also awarded the Excellence in Creating Access to Quality Healthcare (Organizations) award at the 2020 annual Titanium Awards presented by the Board for Healthcare Fundraisers (BHF).
👉 BestMed recognizes that people’s healthcare needs are different, depending on their age, marital status, family size, general health, priorities and budget and keeping this in mind, offers three main medical plan ranges, each with its own unique benefit options to choose from.
👉 They have a solution for you whether you simply only want to pay for hospital expenses or demand a more comprehensive product. The three categories for plans on offer are beaten, pace, and rhythm.
👉 The Beat range provides flexible hospital benefits as well as savings on certain options to cover out-of-hospital expenses. Beat1, 2, and 3 also allow you to reduce your monthly contribution by choosing a Network option.
👉 The Pace range offers more comprehensive in-hospital and out-of-hospital benefits. In addition, these options all have additional savings accounts to cover extensive out-of-hospital expenses.
👉 The Rhythm range consists of Network only options that offer in-hospital and GP benefits.
💙 You might also consider the following options BestMed has to offer:
- 🟧 BestMed Beat 3 Network
- 🟨 BestMed Beat 2 Network
- 🟧 BestMed Beat 1 Network
- 🟨 BestMed 3 Plus
- 🟧 BestMed Pace 4
- 🟨 BestMed Pace3
- 🟨 Bestmed Pace 2
- 🟧 BestMed Pace 1
- 🟨 BestMed Rhythm 2
- 🟧 BestMed Rhythm 1
- 🟨 BestMed Beat 4
- 🟧 BestMed Beat 3
- 🟨 BestMed Beat 2
- 🟧 BestMed Beat 1
Who will benefit from BestMed Medical Scheme?
👉 BestMed offers comprehensive medical cover that is well-suited towards individuals, established families and higher income earners as well as pensioners.
👉 BestMed also operates on a network-based coverage basis, so individuals should first check whether they reside in areas that fall within the pre-selected GP, hospital and specialist network, making it a better option for those residing in urban areas.
Who is Medshield?
👉 Medshield is a well-established medical aid registered in 1968 and, following its merger with Oxygen, covering in excess of 140 000 lives. The Medshield Scheme has a Global Credit rating of AA and has reserves well in excess of the mandated 25%.
👉 Each of the plans offered by Medshield has advantages that are reasonably priced. They medical aid constantly evaluates and enhance the variety of benefits offered by each option to provide you with what you actually need, namely high-quality healthcare that is reasonably priced and a selection of plans that are tailored to your unique, individual needs.
👉 Medshield boasts a solvency ratio and stable AA Global Credit rating which is an indication that beneficiaries can rely on it to pay out their claims. As evidence of their dedication to their members, they invite potential clients to check with their healthcare providers about their payment history. For the 12th consecutive year, they have obtained the coveted AA rating with a stable outlook for their future claim payment performance in recognition of their efforts to make prompt payments.
👉 All the benefit options of plans provide coverage for homes of various income levels, and members even have the choice of controlling their healthcare 24 hours a day using the provided online tools.
Who will benefit from Medshield?
👉 Medshield is your healthcare Partner for Life with an appropriate product offering for every life stage as the requirements and lifestyle of its members evolve from early adulthood to retirement. Medshield’s benefit options include affordable entry-level options to fully comprehensive medical aid coverage for individuals, professional individuals, couples, families and corporate employees.
💙 MedShield has the following medical aid plans to offer:
Frequently Asked Questions
Which medical aid offers the cheapest medical plan, Bestmed or Medshield?
Medshield’s MediCurve plan is the highest between the two medical aids at R1 821 per month. The cheapest plan with BestMed is Rhythm 1 at 1,736 ZAR (Rythm 1) per month.
Which medical aid, Bestmed or Medshield are the most popular?
BestMed boasting about 110 000 more than Medshield. Both medical schemes also offer a variety of medial aids plans with Bestmed offering 14 and Medshield 11.
Do Medshield and Bestmed medical aids offer the option of gap cover?
Bestmed does offer the option to apply for gap cover with other medical providers. Medshield suggests that members apply for gap cover through the schemes brokers.
Do Medshield and Bestmed medical aids have a waiting period?
Yes, both Medshield and Bestmed have a general three-month waiting period during which you are unable to submit a claim.
Which is the best medical aid between Bestmed and Medshield?
Bestmed boasts numerous awards since its inception in 1964. The industry’s lowest score for complaints from beneficiaries is also Bestmed. Medshield is a medical plan that has operated since 1968, making it a reliable and experienced one.
