Utter disgusting treatment during an emergency

I'm warning you to stay away from this company.

On the 24th of May, my mother fell down and could not move. Paralyzed from the waist down. We immediately called paramedics via Discovery and the paramedics took one look at her and instantly rushed her to the nearest hospital emergency room. The emergency department at the hospital requested that she be admitted immediately and we agreed. And so begins the most dismal, disgusting, useless service from a medical "aid" I have ever received in my life.

So, the hospital immediately contacted Discovery for authorisation to admit my mother. They refused immediate authorisation. Yup, refused. Apparently, my mother was in an existing condition window for another 6 days for a condition that, according to them, may or may not be related to her emergency paralysis. The Discovery consultant the hospital spoke to said they would escalate the case to a medical review team to decide on next steps, but assured us they understood my mother was in an emergency, critical situation while they faffed around with their red tape regarding a pre-existing condition, and a resolution would be found. By 5PM, nothing. 6PM, nothing. We kept trying to find out what was going on while my mother was laying there in the emergency ward unable to move. 7PM, nothing. Eventually the hospital admin, incredulous as myself and my family were, told me they all went home and there was nothing more that could be done that night. Yup, my mother's laying there in emergency waiting to find out if she can be admitted for her emergency and Discovery have knocked off for the night without making a decision on whether my mother could be admitted FOR A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. The hospital obviously couldn't admit her without authorisation and Discovery Health couldn't care less. I could not afford to pay the hospital fees to admit my mother while Discovery faffed around over their red tape. So, I had to, get this, hire the same paramedics on my own dime to come back to the hospital and help me get my mother back to my place, my mother who, remember, was unable to walk. I had no choice. It would cost tens of thousands to admit her myself for days whilst waiting for this disgusting company to mess us around with red tape and the hospital couldn't admit her without authorisation. That's what we pay R15,500 a month for.

The next day I started following up so we could re-admit my mother, expecting immediate assistance over what I would have expected them to say was an egregious oversight and mistake on their part, to find no one knew what was going on at all. Hadn't been escalated at all. So I sent in all the documentation that was requested. They didn't have it. I had to get it. Do you know when we got a reply back? June 1. Yup, my mother entered emergency on May 24 unable to walk. It took them until June 1 to reply to me to tell me that they've closed the case! Yup, I kid you not, closed the case. A terse, unhelpful email from a Mageshlen Naicker telling me they've closed the case. Closed the case. Can you even believe it? They had all the information there in front of them confirming that the diagnosis was not at all related to the pre-existing condition, they had all the codes, but it took them from the 24th of May to the 1st of June to respond to me, knowing that my mother had been admitted to the hospital unable to walk. Not once was I contacted to find out how my mother was and if there was anything they could do in the interim. Nothing. The next I heard from these imbeciles was them closing my mother's case due to them not having a final diagnosis, when the diagnosis was already given to them in the hospital codes. She has a cracked femur, a cracked rib, is unable to walk and these disgusting monsters are trifling and quibbling and arguing and fighting and red-taping us over a potential pre-existing condition of hypertension whilst we pay them R15,500 a month! And then they close the case without granting admission because they don't have a final diagnosis. And all this while my mother lay at home unable to move. The hospital was dumbfounded by all of it. The emergency doctor we saw and then the one who came on for the second shift and also found out about this all because my mother had been laying there for hours, so long that the second shift arrived while we were waiting for this all to be rectified, was dumbfounded. The paramedics were dumbfounded, blown away at having to come back and take my mother back home. They were great and gave me a special price because they're good people, unlike these monsters at Discovery.

And now on top of it all, they're not even paying for several of the claims that came specifically from the emergency visit! Even the consultant I spoke to at Discovery himself about this new wrinkle in this disgusting saga was dumbfounded by that and told me we've been treated disgustingly by Discovery.

Do not use this company if you want peace of mind for your health or the health of your loved ones. They will ***** you over when you need them most. Instead of feeling happy and confident that you are covered and supported if health trouble strikes, you will be worrying when the other shoe from this company will drop on your head. It looks like I will be paying out thousands from my own pocket for my mother's emergency. I will be working with my employer to move my medical aid to a different company. And I am also considering legal options regarding our treatment during and after my mother's emergency.