“I knew immediately that something wasn’t right when my wife walked through the door after playing tennis.”
“She said she felt ‘funny’ and couldn’t finish the game. There were no other symptoms other than some slight puffiness. Her vitals were stable. But I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. So, I dragged her – kicking and screaming – to the emergency room, where she was triaged as ‘green’. It wasn’t until they did blood tests that they found serious issues and immediately admitted her to ICU.”
This was the second time that John’s* wife had been admitted to hospital with what he describes as “bad luck conditions”.
“We’re not a sickly family. We don’t drink or smoke and I believe this is why we’ve avoided many medical issues, especially as we get older. But, on two occasions, Profmed has come to the party to help my wife through conditions that were not brought about by her lifestyle. In one of those cases, we flew to Cape Town for a second opinion from a specialist. Profmed covered all the medical bills, no questions asked.”
This, says John, is why he will always pay his medical aid premium – and any other insurance premium – before he puts food on the table.
“As with any insurance, you only need it when you need it. Life is like a game of Snakes & Ladders, you can go from 99 to 0 very quickly and you need the peace of mind that you’re covered if something goes wrong. Profmed has covered my family for 50 years and I will never change providers.”
50-year partnership
John has been a Profmed client since 1970. He and his wife had four children, who were dependents through university.
“We had the usual claims – dentistry, appendix, the occasional broken arm – Profmed was always there, from the birth of our children until the day they took out their own medical cover. We were always treated with dignity and respect, and we treated our medical cover with respect. We never pushed the panic button at the sign of a sniffle. We never abused the cover.”
That mutual respect, he says, is evident when you get a hospital bill with a balance of zero.
“Now that we’re in our 70s, we’re not interested in free smoothies and flight discounts. We want to know that, when we run into trouble, our medical insurance will come to the party. Profmed has proved, on multiple occasions, that it will come to the party. Without Profmed, I would have had to settle my medical debt out of my income, pension, or capital account.”
Golden Rules
John has two Golden Rules in life: First, don’t change your car insurance, medical insurance or banking institution. “Develop a track record so that, when you have a problem, they’re far more likely to listen to you.”
Second, don’t abuse your cover. “People are often negative that medical aids don’t cover this or that. But we’re responsible for our own health. Drinking and smoking can bring on medical issues that don’t have to be issues. Look after yourself and your family, make healthy decisions. You’ll know soon enough when you need help and you’ll be appreciative of the medical cover then.”
“I’d give Profmed a 9 out of 10, only because I never score anyone a perfect 10, and because I’m assured – and know from past experience – that my family will be taken care of in our hour of need.”
* Name has been changed to respect our client’s privacy
