When you apply to join a medical scheme you will possibly be confronted with waiting periods and late-joiner penalties. All too often people try to bend the truth in order to get around these restrictions and penalties, but this inevitably backfires and results in monetary losses and even possibly impact on your health.

Your application will include a section on the medical history and condition for both you and your dependents. This is referred to as 'material information' and is used by medical schemes and insurance companies to calculate the risk of taking you on as a member.

Material non-disclosure is legal terminology that basically means lying on your application. If you do lie on your application then the scheme you have joined has the right to cancel your membership and to refuse to pay for your medical bill.

A medical scheme can not make you pay more for your membership due to an existing medical condition. This means that you do not need to lie in order to join the scheme you have chosen. However, the medical scheme can impose a condition-specific waiting period of no longer than twelve months.

Typically a twelve month waiting period will only apply if you have not belonged to a medical scheme for longer than two years or you have waited more than ninety days between changing schemes.

Do not be fooled into thinking that there is no way for your scheme to find out whether you have lied or not. Non-disclosure is checked via hospital admission records, chronic medication applications and a variety of other medical records.

With such minor restrictions and penalties, lying does not make sense. The waiting periods are far less of an issue compared to the chances of having your membership being cancelled and your medical expenses not being covered.

There have been many cases where members or their dependents have been admitted to hospital due to a pre-existing medical condition and have racked up hefty bills. At this point non-disclosure has been discovered and membership has been cancelled.

Non-disclosure that occurred via a broker is also terms for cancellation of medical aid scheme membership, so it is no use trying to use a broker as a buffer. It is also essential that you check that your medical broker completes your application correctly and if possible fill in the form yourself.

If you do not want to do it yourself then make a list of pre-existing medical conditions for you and your dependents and send it to your broker.

Make sure that your application form is completed accurately and truthfully. This will guarantee that you are not left stranded without medical cover which could possibly cost you your life or the lives of your dependents.

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Article Submitted By: Stuart Broad
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