Dis-Chem Health Failed My Family During a Medical Crisis

I am cancelling my Dis-Chem Health policy after discovering that the cover I was sold and the cover I received are two very different things.

Before joining, I specifically explained that my six-year-old daughter had previously been hospitalised due to severe vomiting and dehydration. I asked direct questions because I wanted peace of mind that if my children ever found themselves in a similar situation again, they would have access to private healthcare when they needed it most.

I was assured that dehydration and respiratory-related conditions were covered. Based on those assurances, I signed up my entire family and paid my premiums every month without fail.

Recently, that exact situation occurred. My children and I became seriously ill with vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and flu symptoms. My daughter was unable to keep food and fluids down. Medication was not helping. As any responsible parent would do, I sought hospital care before her condition could deteriorate further.

Not once, but twice, I attempted to obtain hospital treatment, only to be informed that Dis-Chem Health would not authorise payment.

What I only discovered at that point was that the cover apparently does not work in the way it was presented to me when I joined. At no stage during the sales process was I told that suspected dehydration, repeated vomiting, inability to keep fluids down and a doctor’s concern would not be enough. At no stage was I told that a child could be refused cover unless dehydration had already progressed to a level that could be proven through hospital testing.

That is not healthcare cover. That is paying for the promise of assistance and only learning about the fine print when your child is sick and you need help.

The entire reason I took out this policy was to protect my family in situations exactly like this. Instead, when my family needed medical care, I was left with two choices: pay privately or take my children to a government hospital.

I have paid every premium. I have honoured my obligations. Yet when Dis-Chem Health was expected to honour theirs, they were nowhere to be found.

I feel completely misled by the way this product was sold to me and deeply disappointed by the service I received. No parent should discover the true limitations of their healthcare cover while standing at a hospital with a sick child in their arms.