Bonitas Medical Fund
Reviews and Complaints

I was on unpaid maternity leave and called bonitas to find out the outstanding balance so that I can pay in cashthe consultant told me there is nothing outstanding. I get back to work there is 3700 outstanding and plus I must pay 2000 for monthly contributions I sent emails and been calling several times no one can assist me and give solutions I sent my baby birth certificate few weeks after he was born they didn't receive it sent again they only registered him yesterday my baby is almost 4 months this was the worst experience ever even commed that was liquidated was much better a pleasure I have outstanding medical bills so I ask now whose fault is it as I did my part by calling wanting to payno one can help for their mistakes

I was admitted to hospital on 1 November 2017 for major surgery med.aid number [protected]. Main member Donaveve Mangers. which included a total abdominal hysterectomy including ovaries and cervix as well as bowel and rectum resection due to endometriosis.
Bonitas refuse to pay for the specialist surgeon that assisted with the operation. Rhis specialust wasnt just standing there looking all pretty he was there as the surgery performed on me was very risky and his role was to foresee that I get out of theatre alive. We pay exorbitant amounts for obtaining the best care possible and you just go and deny payment. Where am I suppose to scratch out R5800 from. This is unacceptable. If it was a normal assistant would you have paid? I had a bowel resection as well as total abdominal hysterectomy which was a necessity for a specialist to be around. Can someone please look into this and get back to me.

i have made numerous claims and follow ups on claims after my daughter and her mother were admitted for an emergency c-section when she was born.

Bonitas has has not had the decency to respond to it, not even rejecting it.

the hospital has also made numerous inquiries, the only time that get anything is when I call Bonitas and they say they are looking into it and awaiting documentation from the hospital and doctors.

Please advise the way forward for this matter.

this is utterly disgusting service to say the least

Bonitas... Oh Bonitas... I dont even know what to say... As stated many times before no words can describe how bad your service is and how bad my feeling towards your company is. It is not a case like Adele would say "I wish nothing but the best for you..." on the contrary. You make me so naar dat ek op julle wil kom kots! I have honestly not had 1 pleasant experience with you. When I joined your pathetic medical aid I advised everything regarding my bipolar disorder should be covered. I know how my disorder treats me thus I informed you prior to joining yet your info was false. You ensured me that the plan (Standard) will cover everything. You were so desperate signing me up. If you advised how useless you and this plan is I would have gone to a medical aid who actually delivers the service I deserve. I am not even closely covered in the way I should be and you assured me I will be covered for everything with regards to my condition? Where is the promise of the "excellent" service and cover now? False info much? I had to be admitted into hospital in February this year. I almost committed suicide. You refused to have me treated due to the fact that the waiting period was not over. I had to wait a few more days... unfortunately my disorder does not have a time when it hits me. I cant ask for it to wait a few days. I am at a bad state again and need help which you refuse. You stated that I was not on a medical aid before joining you. Excuse me? I have not been without a medical aid for longer than 1 month. Prior to joining you I was on Imperial med since 2002 and then joined Fedhealth for 1 month. Someone which I wish I could slap now advised you are much better (which is clearly not the case whatsoever) then I decided to join you. Biggest mistake I have made in my entire life and I regret the day I signed up with you. You make my condition worse and worse when you are actually supposed to help me but you refuse. You did not have your facts straight. I found out from other medical aids. I was not supposed to be on a waiting period. Yet so far no apology was given to me for almost costing me my life. You now eventually pay 2 out of the 5 meds that I am supposed to take which I had to stop due to you not paying and benefits always being depleated. I am so gatvol getting emails of closure of query that state benefits are depleated... It is now October and now only you are paying a fraction what I am supposed to take. My waiting period ended in February. What does that help me? I am not in a good state of mind once again. I cant afford to pay medical aid (which does not even closely cover me) as well as my medication. I had to stop taking my medication again due to you not paying. I cant see my psychologist nor my psychiatrist which I should see on a 2 weekly basis which I informed you about yet your agent who sold me the useless plan ensured me will cover all issues with regards to my condition. I email you almost every single day yet all I get is closure of query and to compliment your service? There is absolutely nothing to compliment you on! My money goes into a bottomless pit.in 1 year I pay R35976. Yet for a year I get R5232 worth of benefits? Where is the rest of the money? A total of R30744? You advised that this goes towards covering my hospital...? Yet you reject the claim? I had to pay over R4000 in cash? I got this email today. I post comments on Facebook. You blocked me and deleted my posts? My partner then posts and also gets blocked? I now created myself a new profile and posted on your wall. Will probably be blocked again and have the posts deleted. Is it because customers should not see what you do? I have posted uncountable amounts of complaints as well as emails yet you just dont care. Keep taking my money on a monthly basis. Not even the Council for Medical Schemes could assist? I emailed them but have not received feedback. When I just see an advert for you or hear your name I get naar. And I cant even go to the doctor or get medication to help with the naar feeling seeing you dont pay. I am at a very bad place in my life at this stage again which you contribute a huge amount to yet you refuse to give me the help that I need. You are one of the reasons I feel this way again in my life. I cant accept the fact that I pay and need help yet you refuse it. I am desperate to get help and you refuse. As I said I had to stop taking my meds again seeing you dont pay. You are by far the worst medical aid in existence and the fact that you are still operating completely gobsmacks me... If I had to pay the amount into a savings account that I pay over to you on a monthly basis I would have been much better off and would have been able to use that money to treat my condition. I honestly cant believe that you treat customers like this. It is actually a disgrace and disgusting. If something happens to me due to you refusing me the urgent help I need I will ensure that you are held liable and accountable! My entire family knows that you refuse to pay for my condition! I will haunt every single one of you at Bonitas so bad it will make your head spin! You honestly are not helping my condition in any way, on the contrary you worsen it! A lot! You are a service provider yet you dont provide me a service? I pay and pay and pay... for what? Getting frustrated every day? Getting refused the help I desperately need. I did not know that your mission in life is complicating mine and upsetting me on a daily basis and not helping me getting the help I need. What is the purpose of paying money over to you and get problems in return? I think it will honestly be better for me to go to a small farm hospital in the bundus where some quack can google how to treat me than getting anything out of you! The service will be much much much better than what you provide me. I dont think the words "customer service" and "paying out claims" are in your vocabulary as I really struggle to see it? You are beyond useless and do not care about customers whatsoever. Never in my life have I dealt with anything like you. You are one of a kind. I am in the customer service industry myself, but luckily I give customers the service they deserve for the money they pay. Your slogan is so false... The medical aid who never stops thinking about you? You dont think about anyone besides yourselves! Not once have you thought about me. You are just worried about money coming in. You hardly give out. I would like to know where the difference of my money paid to you went? It is always one hell of a mission getting anything out of you. I have a bigger chance getting pregnant through email or smoke signal from Ethiopia than getting good service from you. The public should see what you guys do. I had a hell of a lot of feedback on one of my complaints on another page than your Facebook page. I am not the only one who feels this way. Your service is utterly pathetic and I am honestly a very upset customer. Not one of my countless complaints have been dealt with in the manner that I deserve! Shame on you! I dont know how you guys sleep at night knowing this is what you do to customers.

Acc number - F6736214
Patient - C.M. de Beer
Med aid nr - [protected]
Referring dr - Dr J/A Myburgh
Service date - 25/07/2017
Practice nr - 5200539
Blood tests had to be dome all most as an emergency because of severe problem with my prostrate and the dr wanted these very soon and Bonitas refused to pay this.
Can you please attend to this and correct it.

My member number is [protected] and I have been quering pathcare accounts outstanding since december 2016... For invoices for in hospital treatment as well as invoices with icd-10 cide i48.9... When I started with this query in march they told me paarl medi city must confirm I was in hospital on 8.12.16 which paarl medi clinic has done three times... Your case manager auth the incorrect date... She put as from 9.12.16 and I was admitted late in 8.12.16... I have sent so many emails no response or I just get a query number and get told they attending to it... Still no payment... I phoned bonitas on 1st 3rd and 4th of aug... No one has returned my call... Pathcare is now taking me to court and im getting legal advice on monday as u dont respond at all... Received another three final notices from pathcare today so ive had enough... Reveiw my emails to u... From [protected]@gmail.com and see how manytimes I have contacted u regarding these payments... Im laying a complaint with medical aid council next week... Main member jj bosman pasient vsb bosman...

On a constant basis Bonitas keeps suspending my membership due to them stating that my premiums have not been paid. In April 2017 during an emergency in hospital I had found out that me medical aid has been suspended. I had to pay cash which was a large sum of money. Upon investigation and taking to different consultants it was discovered that in March 2017 Bonitas did not debit my account, therefore in April they tried to double debit. My bank stopped the second debit which then resulted in bonitas suspending my account. However how am I to blame for this. This is a breach in contract between the medical aid and myself. Now in June I find that my membership has been suspended again. I noticed that my account has not been debited. I called the medical aid and they were adamant that it was my fault. I had called my bank to verify the debit being stopped only to find that the medical aid did not debit my account. Now I am required to do manual transactions and send through a host of paperwork to reinstate this. I am really tired of this. I have no confidence in Bonitas

I left the Medical Aid end December 2016 after giving my full months notice.
Via snail post they sent me a letter (they have always sent me e-mails now POST?) 17 April 2017 on the letter that they need my banking details to refund me.
I have e-mailed the info on the 2nd May 2017 (not snail mail)
On 17 May 2017 I phoned to follow up just to hear it will pay out the Friday 20 May 2017. Give or take if not in by the 25 th I will phone again.
By then when I phoned I was told there is a journal opened and I will receive the money the following Friday 2 June.
2 June no money then I phoned to hear it was paid out? NOT in my account I said. The lady under took to follow up and phone back on REF # 020617Q9KHYS. Today 5 June no call no money and when I phoned and waited for 22 min to get a statement I will receive it by Friday 9 June.

Member - [protected]

My dad is a pensioner and uses the little money he gets to pay Bonitas for medical cover. BUT every time he needs an operation Bonitas say they will only pay if he pay R6 000-00 in advance.

A few months back he had to go for a back operation but Bonitas had more issues than answers. He barely can walk but Bonitas don’t care one ounce. So he lives on pain killers and has to suffer every day.

This time he has trouble with his eyes. Dr Fourie [protected]. A specialist advice that he has cataracts and they have to remove it as it could cause blindness. AGAIN Bonitas inform him that they can do the procedure if my dad pays R6000-00 upfront.

People complain about governments service but I think government patience if better of that Bonitas members. My grandmother went for cataract operation at a government hospital and was assist right away without any issues.

We know Bonitas will have some excuse and as they are a money making business who only cares about the money and not their members.

Why can't Bonitas have selutions for their members instead of just refusing to help paying members to life a better lift. You will rather have a member being blink that cannot do anything so you have more reasons not to help them.

We will take this up with the Ombudsman also

Good day. I was a liberty medical aid customer and I voted a firm No on the amalgamation of bonitas medical aid but it happened any way. I have a crown that has to be done and now all of a sudden they don't cover it in the benefits, wen I was on liberty I got one crown a year I am totally disappointed in bonitas medical aid they still charge me the same rates but with almost none of the benefits I use to have. I highly not recommend that anyone join bonitas and I am considering of suspending my suspicion. I can not belive that this is the case that they took away my denifits without consulting me first I have not agreed to any of there terms. They are a complete rip off. And if I had to give them a rating from 1 to 5 I'd definitely give them a zero. This is not what I signed up for. They are such a rip off and there advertisement lies cause I do not get what I pay for.

I am very disappointed in the unprofessional, sarcastic and don't care manner that Pryan dealt with me and my query on the 12th of January 2017.

I would want to suggest proper Telephone etiquette and Frontline Excellence courses as he definitely needs it.

Will not again going forward having him assist me with any of my queries, will call back until someone else is available.

Mrs. C. Smit
Member #[protected]

Myself and My Wife has been trying to speak to a consultant for the past 30 Minutes already, existing member one voice prompt after the other, if they don't have enough agents then they should employ more...

Disgusted, I was an LMS Agent for over 12 years never had a days issues.

This is pathetic!

What if its an emergency and I need a pre-authorization number?

Official complaint:
Member number :[protected]

I am very disappointed in the fact that Bonitas continuously boasts on television about their great! Claims payment record and how wonderful they are! "In Hospital procedures unlimited" joke of the year!

Considering I pay a monthly premium of over R7000-00 per month only to find that when my daughter goes into Hospital for a hip procedure and obtains pre authorization from Bonitas after receiving all the relevant codes Bonitas provides an authorization code indicating all is approved go ahead.
To our amazement only to find that Bonitas paid less than half! of the procedure the patient has to pay in over R13000-00 and over R5000-00 for the anaesthetist, which amounts to more than two thirds.

Interesting enough my daughter went in for a knee procedure a while ago and with the very same specialist and all was covered accept for a small co- payment for the anaesthetist.(We expected a similar service from Bonitas)
This means since her last op Bonitas has almost doubled their monthly premiums and now covered less than half of the costs of the procedure, I will encourage Bonitas to be honest and stop Boasting about their great coverage and claims record, which is obviously a blatant lie and really misleading members.
That when a patient applies for an authorization number that the patient is informed prior to the procedure that the patient is will personally be responsible for more than half of the costs for the procedure prior to going ahead.
Such as in this cased being informed that we will be liable for paying in over R19000-00, that what we call fantastic service and really adds to the great! And wonderfull claims record Bonitas is boasting of.
Unless Bonitas re-visits this pathetic attempt of paying or covering a pre authorised procedure I will insure that this letter is placed on the relative blog informing patients/existing members and any possible future members of the reality and to stay away from Bonitas.
I certainly encourage Bonitas to revisit this pathetic attempt of paying claims and putting members under a complete misconception.

I expect at least a decent explanation as why we were misled and not informed prior to going ahead that we would be paying more than half the procedure.
A copy of this will be forwarded to the Ombudsman so that they too will be made aware of the unethical way in which Bonitas misleads it' members.

Regards

Mark Wilhelmi

Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

ANAETHESIST VAN ZYL ACCOUNT
STATEMENT DR.JAN N DE VOS

I took out a medical aid with Bonita's med aid in January 2013 and the premium was about R1600 and some change I cannot remember exactly how much and then the next month they debited my account with R1900-00 when I questioned the debit order I was told it is a late joining fee and I was told that I had to pay it, in this year my financial adviser submitted all the documentation to the medical aid as proof that I should not have paid this late joining fee, and requesting them to refund me the funds from the date I joined the medical aid to date, Bonita's however just reduced the monthly debit order as from April, also I use my cell phone to call the medical aid and get pushed from pillar to post the agents are not always helpful they do not come back to you, I would like for Benita's to refund me from the time the medical aid was taken out, if they can reverse the late joining fee now it means they should have not charged me in the first place. The sales agent who helped me did not ask if I was on a medical aid previously he took it upon him self to assume that. Ref no is 150414qr3j62.

I paid into the medical fund's account on the 4th of March & sent through proof of payment the same day but was notified a few days later that my account had been suspended. I received notification that my query would be followed up. A week passed and I called the call centre again on the 10th of March. I called from my mobile and was put on hold for a collective 53 MINUTES by FIVE different call centre agents none of whom could sort out my query. None of them bothered to call back and notify me whether my query had been sorted out or not. It really is tiring to have to explain yourself to people who sigh in your ear, pretend to care while the disinterest in their voices tells you otherwise, who then keep you on hold for copious amounts of time with no assurance of whether they can help you or not. On the last call I made on the same day, I was assured that the suspension had been lifted and my benefits had been reinstated. It is now the 18th of March and I have yet to receive confirmation of this. Today I also received an email and sms notifying me that my benefits had been suspended YET AGAIN and I called through AGAIN to have this cleared up. I am very disgusted and disappointed in the BONITAS medical aid fund which I have been with and felt I could rely on SINCE BIRTH. I will definitely not remain on this medical aid fund through to 2015. The level of service and efficiency is shockingly bad and the lack of empathy of some of the individuals working at this medical aid fund is very disheartening. I will never recommend Bonitas to anyone I know. EVER!

I am a longstanding member of Bonitas medical scheme (for the past 16 years). I have problems of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, ischaemic heart disease and glaucoma.

I have been very unwell this year, necessitating several emergency visits and procedures, thus depleting my day to day benefits. I am a pensioner and cannot spare any further money for additional medical care.

Bonitas has subsequently sent me letters informing me of PMB allowances for the following pathology tests being available (Total Cholesterol / HDL / LDL / HbA1c). Yet, when I did go for these tests to Bouwer Labs on 28/09/2011, Bonitas rejected payment for these tests, stating that the savings have been depleted, despite the appropriate ICD-10 codes being used on the electronic submission of this account to Bonitas.

In terms of the Medical Schemes Act, I am entitled to these prescribed minimum benefits, and request that Bonitas agree to fund these expenses, as they have indicated.

Kind regards

Mrs A Naidoo
Bonitas member number [protected]

I requested authorization for my husband to be sent for sleep studies. The GP diagnosed sleep apnoea and wants the sleep studies to be conducted to confirm his diagnosis so that he can be treated. Prime Cure declined authorization because of my husband being overweight. The sleep apnoea is now life threatening to him because he falls asleep behind the wheel on a daily basis. Prime Cure advised that he needs to loose weight first and stop smoking before they will treat him. Must he die in a car accident first? We all know it is impossible to loose weight overnight and by the time he has lost enough weight for them to authorize the treatment, it will be too late. I also smoke and is also overweight but I don't have sleep apnoea. How can they say that's the reason he has sleep apnoea?! Sleep apnoea contributes to a lot of other health issues like blood pressure, cholesterol etc. Must he know become more ill before he gets treated? Catch a wake up and HELP him get treatment because if the sleep apnoea is not under control HE CAN NOT LOOSE WEIGHT!

I am absolutely disgusted with Bonitas's 'service'. It's a general consensus amongst the members I know. I submnitted a claim on 10 Feb for a consultation I had that same day. I handed it in to one of Bonitas's claim boxes. 4 payment runs have passed & I have received no acknowldgement of the claim, let alone payment. On 1 March I sent a query to their claims email address & their service centre email. I also attached a copy of the original claim. All my emails are acknowledged by a faceless, impersonal computer-generated auto-response. And that's all I heard until today's receipt of a survey request to rate their service based on my query submitted 1 March & RESOLVED 4 March! When & where was it ever resolved? I have heard NOTHING from them, and it's been 2 months since I submitted my claim the 1st time, & a week since I submitted it a 2nd time. This is not the first time I have experience this with Bonitas. You'd think they would be keen to provide the best service possible to allay their clients' fears about the shaky future of the company, & to retain their membership. The audacity ot request a rating on their service when there is absolutely none, astounds me!

Bonitas Medical Aid is supposed to be an excellent medical aid, one of the top 5 in the country( I stand to be corrected), but they have a call centre where calls are almost never answered, no matter if you call at 9 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon! And then when you have to claim your money back, you almost never hear from them about that!But they're very quick to pull their money off your account at the end of the month!what the hell?I don't know how many times I've tried to claim money back from the end of last year till now, I've heard nothing about it, not even an sms to say maybe I'm out of funds or something, nothing!I'm irritated and I'm thinking of changing to something else, I have a friend who is on Momentum Health and they seem to be doing quite alright, maybe I'll go there!

On the [protected] Mpho Matsimela emailed me the forms to register with Bonitas medical adi scheme. On the [protected] i completed all the forms and faxed through all documents that were requested. I did speak to Mpho telephonically who then confirmed receipt of the documents and advised me that all was in order. I waited a few weeks and hadnt received any further correspondence so on the [protected] i emailed Mpho who then contacted my husband and advised me that our application had been declined because his bank statement was outstanding. Firstly they didnt request the bank statement and secondly when i queried if all the documents were correct he did confirm. on the [protected] i emailed both Mpho and customer services and to date have not received any correspondence. On the 3112009 i resubmitted all documentation including the bank statement and still no update on whats going on. I have even received a read receipt from Mpho but no HELP! i cant believe BONITAS service. they have such ****** working for them! DISGUSTING!