Bonitas members deserve better: Cancer is a Prescribed Minimum Benefit condition.

Bonitas Primary: Shocking delays & initial declines on PET/CT scans for cancer patients – even after Oncology registration & chemo. Clear PMB cover being ignored. I am posting this publicly to highlight a serious and ongoing issue with how Bonitas manages PET/CT scans for oncology patients on the Primary 2026 option. My wife was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. She is fully registered on Bonitas’ Oncology Management Programme, and the scheme has been paying for her chemo without issue. Her treating oncologist requested a PET/CT scan to assess treatment response aftr 12 taxing sessions and this is to guide next steps – this is standard, clinically necessary care for a Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB) condition. Bonitas’ own 2026 Primary brochure and Annexure B state clearly: PET SCANS (SUBJECT TO REGISTRATION ON THE ONCOLOGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME) – PMB only

Despite this explicit cover, the request was initially declined. The hospital benefit comments stated the Primary option “does not have a PET scan benefit”. Even after Bonitas knew about the cancer diagnosis and had already funded chemo, they still required an extra doctor’s motivation letter proving the scan is “part of the treatment”. The process is unnecessarily slow, bureaucratic, and stressful. It feels like the Oncology department is gatekeeping a benefit that is supposed to be automatic for registered PMB cancer cases. This is not isolated – it appears to be a systemic problem with Bonitas (and many medical aids) when it comes to oncology. Bonitas members deserve better. If you have experienced similar delays or denials with PET scans, oncology authorisations, or PMB-related imaging, please share your story. These delays cause real harm to cancer patients who are already under immense stress.