TymeBank expands into health insurance with digital healthcare offering

10 Mar 2022

Having successfully reached its target of 4.5 million customers since launching in 2019, TymeBank has set its sights on a digital healthcare offering in the form of TymeHealth, which launches immediately.

The app-based TymeHealth is offered by TymeBank in partnership with the National HealthCare Group and will provide three options ranging from R139 to R399 a month.

The two companies share a common shareholder in the form of African Rainbow Capital (ARC). ARC is a direct shareholder in TymeBank and is invested in the National HealthCare Group via its subsidiary ARC Health.

According to the Council for Medical Schemes’ annual report for 2020/21, close to nine million South Africans are covered by a medical scheme. However, this figure has been fairly flat for several years due to the high cost of medical scheme membership.

TymeBank CEO Tauriq Keraan says that in a country with a population of just over 60 million, the dire reality is that only one in seven South Africans have access to medical aid, and most cannot afford private healthcare.

The National HealthCare Group is a provider network that includes more than 12,000 registered healthcare providers, including GPs, pharmacies, dentists, optometrists, specialists and hospitals countrywide.

All three plans offer GP consultations, basic radiology, dentistry and pathology tests. Accidental hospitalisation and accidental death cover are included in the Premier and Elite options The three cover options immediately available are:

MediClub Connect – R139 per person per month.

MediClub Premier – R299 per person per month.

MediClub Elite – R399 per person per month.

Dr Reinder Nauta, executive chairman of National HealthCare, says that until private healthcare becomes more affordable, access will remain a pipedream for many individuals.

As a medical insurance product, the TymeHealth offering comprises three plans suitable for those with no medical scheme access or those looking for a supplementary day-to-day product to complement their existing medical scheme hospital plan.

“For example, you are not feeling well and you need to get to a doctor. The doctor might diagnose something that is very serious and can give you a timeous referral letter for the relevant test at one of the working hospitals in the government sector,” he says.

Consumers wanting to apply for TymeHealth need to do so using the TymeBank app, which means they must sign up as customers. Scroll along the top and click on the “medical cover” icon to access TymeHealth. You will then be prompted to choose the plan that best meets your needs. Once you are successfully registered, you will receive a digital membership card.

Keraan says radically bringing down the cost of medical insurance is an industry boon and a natural evolution for the TymeBank brand.

“We are committed to offering affordable, accessible and inclusive products – whether that is transactional banking, access to credit or healthcare – to South Africans across the economic spectrum,” he says. BM/DM

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