BestMed Medical Scheme vs Sizwe Medical Fund
Bonitas Medical Scheme versus Siswe Medical Fund 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 Bonitas and Siswe Medical Fund 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: Bonitas or Siswe Medical Fund?
So if you’re ready to go “all in” with the Bonitas versus Siswe Medical Fund in South Africa, this guide is for you.
Let’s dive right in…
BestMed Medical Scheme vs Sizwe Medical Fund Summary
Overall Comparison
| ✔️ Feature | 🥇 BestMed (2025) | 🥇 Siswe Medical Fund |
| General comparison | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Number of plans | 13 | 14 |
| Lowest premium | R2 111.00 (Beat1 Network) | R1 870.00 (Essential Copper) |
| Highest premium | R11 662.00 (Pace4) | R8 415.00 (Titanium Executive) |
| Student Plan | No | No |
| Gap Cover | No | No |
| Hospital plans | Yes | Yes |
| Maternity benefits | Yes | Yes |
| Number of members | 209 000 | 172 000 |
Plan benefits
| ✔️ Feature | 🥇 BestMed (2025) | 🥇 Siswe Medical Fund |
| Name of Plan | • Beat1 • Beat1 Network • Rhythm1 • Rhythm2 • Beat2 • Beat2 Network • Beat3 • Beat3 Network • Pace1 • Beat4 • Pace2 • Pace3 • Pace4 | • Essential Copper (3X) • Access Core • Access Saver 25 • Silver Hospital • Gold Ascend • Gold Ascend EDO • Value • Value Core EDO • Plus • Platinum Enhanced • Platinum Enhanced EDO • Titanium Executive |
| Price per plan | • Beat1: R2 347.00 • Beat1 Network: R2 111.00 • Rhythm1: R1 615.00 • Rhythm2: R2 368.00 • Beat2: R2 869.00 • Beat2 Network: R2 581.00 • Beat3: R4 199.00 • Beat3 Network: R3 779.00 • Pace1: R5 706.00 • Beat4: R6 832.00 • Pace2: R8 132.00 • Pace3: R9 336.00 • Pace4: R11 662.00 | • Essential copper: R1 870.00 – R2 839.00 (depending on your income) • Access Core: R2 418.00 • Access Saver 25: R3 092.00 • Silver Hospital: TBC • Gold Ascend: R3 418.00 • Gold Ascend EDO: R3 250.00 • Value: R4 401.00 • Value Core EDO: R4 051.00 • Plus: R7 227.00 • Platinum Enhanced: R4 747.00 • Platinum Enhanced EDO: R4 511 • Titanium Executive: R8 415.00 |
| 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 with pre-authorization |
| Basic optometry | Yes, depending on the plan you choose | Yes depending on the plan you choose |
| HIV benefit | Yes | Yes |
| Maternity benefit | Yes | Yes |
| Road accident claims | Yes | No |
BestMed Medical Scheme vs. Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund
👉 Both BestMed and Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund 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 2025.
Which offers more affordable cover – BestMed or Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund?
👉 While Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund has the lowest premium of the two medical aids with its Essential Copper plan, it also offers a wider choice of plans.
👉 However, BestMed offers a good selection of affordable medical aid plans designed for individuals, young families, and pensioners.
Do both schemes offer gap cover?
👉 No, 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. Bonitas offer gap cover.
👉 Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund does not make provision for gap cover.
Do both schemes offer hospital plans?
👉 Yes, both BestMed and Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund 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 Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund’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.
👉 Read more about affordable hospital plans in South Africa
Who is BestMed Medical Scheme?
👉 Bestmed was founded in 1964 and currently has more than 210 000 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 have 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 (Organisations) award at the 2020 annual Titanium Awards presented by the Board for Healthcare Fundraisers (BHF).
👉 BestMed recognise 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 beat, 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 1 Network
- ✅ BestMed Tempo
- ✅ BestMed Pace 4
- ✅ BestMed Pace 3
- ✅ 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 Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund?
👉 Sizwe Medical Fund was founded in 1978. The Fund is essentially a South African company that in many ways mirrors a South African story. Hosmed Medical Scheme was founded in 1998. The two medical aids merged to form Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund.
👉 The Group’s goals in creating the Fund were to lead black people in healthcare issues and to offer medical aid coverage for blacks. Black specialists can now launch their own private practises because of this. Additionally, it allowed black private patients and their doctors access to pricey drugs, X-rays, and other investigations that were beyond reach for almost everyone without medical aid coverage.
👉 Sizwe Hosmed Medical funds’ footprint stretches nationwide and itis accepted by all service providers. It guarantees unlimited hospitalisation on all options for PMB conditions. The collective value of Hosmed day-to-day benefits per option compares well with the rest of the industry.
👉 It offers optometry, dentistry, pathology and radiology benefits per person, no matter how big your family is. Additionally, it includes a wellness benefit for all beneficiaries on all options as well as access to a 24-hour call centre, including telephonic nurse advice on emergency and nonemergency transfer.
👉 Overall the scheme offers a traditional, sound healthcare solution for all South Africans.
Who will benefit from Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund?
👉 With Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund, you have access to a wide range of medical aid options and industry-leading benefits for individuals as well as the whole family.
Sizwe Hosmed offers 12 medical aid plans
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Value Core
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Titanium Executive
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Silver Hospital
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Plus
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Platinum Enhanced
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Platinum Enhanced EDO
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Gold Ascend
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Gold Ascend EDO
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Value
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Essential Copper
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Access Saver 25
- ✅ Sizwe Hosmed Access Core
Frequently Asked Questions
Which medical aid offers the cheapest medical plan, Bestmed or Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund?
Bestmed has the lowest option with the Rhythm1 Network plan at R1 615.00 per month in 2025. Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund lowest option is the Essential Copper plan at R1 590.00.
Which medical aid, Bestmed or Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund are the most popular?
Bestmed has the most members at present with over 209 000 compared to Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund’s 172 000. BestMed offers its members a choice between 13 plan options, whereas Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund offers a choice between 14 medical plans.
Do Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund and Bestmed medical aids offer the option of gap cover?
Bestmed and Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund does not offer the option of gap cover. However, members do have the option to apply for gap cover with an independent insurer.
Do Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund and Bestmed medical aids have a waiting period?
Yes, both Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund 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 Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund.
Award winning Bestmed has been in operation since 1964. It boasts having one of the lowest beneficiary complaint ratings in its industry. Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund was formed following a merger between Sizwe Medical Fund and Hosmed Medical Scheme; their main aim is providing affordable health coverage for Black South Africans.
