Blind side and left destitute

I have been a member of Affinity from 2015 and to be honest I have never been so blind sided in my life.

In 2022 we learned that we are pregnant and I contacted Affinity Health to ensure my policy had the maternity benefit. I am on Gold Max. I recently made contact with the provider to get authorization to give birth and due to health complications and a previous emergency c-section my Dr had motivated for me to get another c-section.

When I called Affinity I was advised to get quotes from the Hospital. Gynae, A anesthetist and pediatrician. I did all this and sent it through. The feedback I received from Affinity is that the maximum amount they can pay for my maternity benefit is R35K which is the total quote for the Hospital only.

My gynae costs totals up to R11K, A aesthetician cost is close to R7K and the Pediatrician fees are R4K. Meaning I have to pay close to R30K myself for the procedure. I have never really had serious issues with the plan or Affinity yes they didn't pay for a lot of other procedures in the past but I was completely blind sided by this and wish I was informed beforehand as I would've made different choices when coming to medical cover. So if you are planning on having children in the near future and with this company I'd advise you to reconsider or to look for an alternative.

I am truly disheartened by this and unfortunately for me it is already too late as I am having a high risk pregnancy and to change from private to public now would just not make sense.

As a member of almost 8 years I wish I had read and understood my benefits clearly I would've definitely made a more informed decision about them.