Developing a disruptive model
As costs continue to rise, we know that alternative approaches are needed – solutions that leverage the power of digital service delivery and primary healthcare models to offer low-cost solutions. As a result, we have grown and adapted our business model to disrupt the status quo in the healthcare sector and deliver transformational change.
Given our experience, capabilities and scale – with 3.8 million lives under management – we recognise that we are uniquely placed to deliver this change. Over the past few years, AfroCentric has invested significant capital into analysing the healthcare industry, how and where the healthcare spend is utilised and thinking through the complexity of problems faced to develop relevant solutions.
In line with the insights gained, we have made several strategic acquisitions in the past few years in areas of healthcare delivery, specifically where inefficiencies could be reduced or eliminated to deliver direct savings to our client schemes. We are committed to finding improved ways of operating – achieving savings without compromising the quality of healthcare to ensure long-term sustainability by reducing medical scheme contribution increases over time.
The healthcare spend
Our integrated model in action
The effectiveness of our approach was demonstrated in our ability to deliver a much needed prosthesis for a low-income scheme member. The prosthetic required is generally sold for between R150 000 and R200 000 and was likely to generate a substantial co-payment for the member.
We were able to procure an alternative, high-quality prosthetic through our MMed subsidiary, at the cost of only R65 000. This was only achieved through our model that considers the entire value chain, demonstrating the difference AfroCentric can make in the cost of healthcare and the quality of life of individual members and employees.
We have invested time and money into building this model and integrating new offerings with our established services. Our integrated approach puts members at the centre of our model, to realise benefits such as improved quality of health and wellbeing. We believe that this not only protects our clients from financial risk but also opens up opportunities to enhance the member experience as well as attract and retain members from lower-income groups. This is all made possible through leveraging our integrated model and the digital capabilities available within the Group.