Discovery Health says Covid-19 resulted in an ongoing R600m annual cost burden

Covid-19 may now be considered an endemic disease, but it has added an ongoing cost burden on Discovery Health of more than half a billion rand a year.

The new virus, which caused a worldwide pandemic in 2020, cost the Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) R700 million in 2023 for issues such as in-hospital care, Covid-19-related diagnostic testing and other ongoing effects of the virus. Dr Ron Whelan, CEO of Discovery Health, says the group estimates the virus' long-term, ongoing cost burden on the scheme to be approximately R600 million a year.