Medical aid increases for 2027: Every big scheme in one table

Last checked: 7 October 2026. We update this page every time a scheme announces.

What changed this month?

• 7 October 2026: Page started. Eight schemes have announced. Profmed, KeyHealth, Sizwe Hosmed and GEMS have not confirmed their 2027 increases.
• 2 October 2026: Bonitas announced an average increase of 8.7%, the highest of the big open schemes.
• 1 October 2026: Discovery Health announced 8.2%. Medihelp announced 7.5% and Bestmed 7.35%.
• 30 September 2026: Momentum Health and Medshield both announced 7.9%.
• September 2026: Fedhealth was first, with 8.9% for 60% of its members.

How much is medical aid going up in 2027?

Most South Africans on medical aid will pay between 7.35% and 8.9% more from January 2027. That is roughly double what the regulator asked for.

The Council for Medical Schemes told schemes in July to anchor their 2027 increases at 3.8%, the inflation rate the Reserve Bank expects for 2027. Schemes can add a reasonable amount for members using more healthcare, but they must justify anything above the guideline with a business plan.

Every scheme that has announced so far went well past it.

8.90%Fedhealth

8.70%Bonitas

8.20%Discovery

7.90%Momentum

7.90%Medshield

7.50%Medihelp

7.35%Bestmed

4.40%Inflation

3.80%CMS guide

See the numbers

Fedhealth	8.90%
Bonitas	8.70%
Discovery	8.20%
Momentum	7.90%
Medshield	7.90%
Medihelp	7.50%
Bestmed	7.35%
Inflation	4.40%
CMS guide	3.80%

Weighted average increase per scheme as announced. Fedhealth's 8.9% covers 60% of its members only. Inflation is Stats SA's August 2026 figure. Sources: the schemes, Council for Medical Schemes, Stats SA.

What will my medical aid cost per month in 2027?

The percentage is only half the story. What hurts is the rand amount. We worked out what each average increase adds to three common monthly contributions.

On a R5,000 plan, Discovery's 8.2% adds R410 a month, or R4,920 a year. If Discovery had stuck to the guideline, the increase would have been R190 a month.

These are averages. Your own plan can be higher or lower. Discovery's plans range from 7.4% on Active Smart to 8.9% on Comprehensive, Executive, Priority, KeyCare and Coastal Core. Bonitas runs from 7.3% on BonCore to 11.5% on BonCap.

Fedhealth needs a warning. Its 8.9% figure covers only 60% of members. A broker's breakdown of Fedhealth's own rate tables shows flexiFED 3 and flexiFED 4 going up 13.5%, while two new sureFED plans stay at 0%.

KeyHealth is not confirmed. One broker lists KeyHealth increases of 7.9% to 9.9% by option, but we could not find a statement from KeyHealth itself, so we leave it blank until we do.

Why are medical aid increases higher than inflation?

Inflation was 4.4% in August, according to Stats SA. Medical aid is going up almost twice as fast. The schemes give three main reasons.

Claims are rising. Hospital and specialist costs keep climbing faster than prices in the shops. The Board of Healthcare Funders, which speaks for many schemes, says specialist costs rose 8.61% and hospital costs 8.51%. Its managing director, Dr Katlego Mothudi, said that if schemes must explain their increases, people should also ask why hospital and specialist bills keep rising.

Members are getting older. Momentum says the medical aid market shrank 3% between 2019 and 2024, while the average member's age went from 35 to 37. Hospital spending jumps from around age 50, says the Health Funders Association. When young, healthy people leave because they cannot afford it, the people left behind cost more to cover.

New treatments cost more. Discovery points to new medicines and technology, and to more people living with chronic illness.

Photo: Axxter99 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Is 3.8% a cap or just a guideline?

It is a guideline. Schemes can go higher if they can show why. Increases still need approval from the Council for Medical Schemes before they apply from 1 January.

The council's own numbers explain the gap. In a second circular it estimated that the extra healthcare members use adds about 4.2% on top of inflation, which gives an industry-wide figure of 8.10%. Most schemes landed close to that.

This has happened before. For 2026, the council asked for 3.3%. Discovery went 7.2%, Bonitas 8.8% and Momentum 9.9%. Rising costs like these squeeze the same budgets as the petrol price that just crossed R30 a litre.

What about GEMS, Profmed and Sizwe Hosmed?

GEMS, the scheme for government employees, has not announced yet. Last year it announced in November. Its 2026 increase was 9.5%, and the council refused its request to cut that to 7.5% in the middle of the year. Unions have pushed hard against GEMS hikes.

Sizwe Hosmed is still under curatorship. It launched its 2027 plans at the start of October but gave no increase figure. The scheme says curatorship should end in September 2027.

Profmed had not published its 2027 increase when we last checked. We will add all three the day they announce.

How can I pay less for medical aid in 2027?

You have options, but the window is short. Most schemes only let you change plans once a year, before 1 January. Fedhealth's deadline is 30 November. Others usually close in December. Check the letter or email from your scheme for the exact date.

Photo: Stethoscopes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Compare the rand, not the percentage. A 7.9% increase on a cheap plan can cost less than 7.35% on an expensive one. Look at what you will actually pay each month.

Look at a cheaper plan on the same scheme. Many schemes kept their lowest increases for their cheapest or newest plans. Discovery's lowest is 7.4%, and Fedhealth's new sureFED plans have no increase at all. Before you move, check which hospitals and doctors the cheaper plan allows, and what co-payments it adds.

Pair a hospital plan with gap cover. Gap cover is a separate insurance product. It pays the difference when a specialist charges more than your scheme pays. A hospital plan plus gap cover is often cheaper than a full comprehensive plan.

Claim your tax credit. SARS gives you a medical tax credit of R376 a month for yourself and your first dependant, and R254 for each extra dependant, in the 2026/27 tax year. If your employer does not deduct it, claim it on your tax return. A surprise debit order bouncing in January can leave you with a negative bank balance, so plan for the new amount now.

Will NHI make medical aid pointless?

Not yet. The National Health Insurance Act is law, but President Cyril Ramaphosa promised in February not to switch it on until the Constitutional Court rules on challenges against it. The Western Cape government and the Board of Healthcare Funders are among those challenging it.

Photo: amanderson2 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

If NHI is fully rolled out, medical aid could end up covering only what the NHI fund does not. That uncertainty is one reason young people are wary of joining, which pushes the average age of members up, and prices with it.

What to watch next

Four big names are still to come. GEMS covers government workers, and its number will land on hundreds of thousands of households. Profmed, KeyHealth and Sizwe Hosmed will follow.

The Council for Medical Schemes still has to approve every increase in this table. Your scheme will send your own new rate before the plan change deadline.

Put that letter next to this table. The difference between the cheapest and the dearest scheme on a R5,000 plan is R77.50 a month, and the right plan change could save you far more than that.