Smart plan - Hardly any providers left to choose from

Hi Discovery,

I've just spent 35 minutes on the line with one of your consultants trying to figure out why your smart plan has so few providers. In Durban, you have a single optometrist with two branches next to each. When Discovery came to pitch the smart network, they said more providers would be added over time, but reality is that you have reduced this to only a single provider with a small footprint in Durban.

My question to your agent who said she could not answer me, nor could she get someone to call me who would know is: Is the smart plan being phased out, and why are all your providers leaving your smart network? I'm paying for a service that reduces my options as time goes by. At this rate, next year I may have to travel out of province to see an optometrist. If you are intending to shrink it further for next year, I'll either change plans or medical aids.

Kind Regards