--- title: "Incentivised wellness, aligned to a total health approach, is key to improved health outcomes" description: "We continue to emerge from the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that created one of the most turbulent healthcare environments in our country’s history. While economic activity has opened up, we as consumers are all feeling the pinch as inflation rates increase and the cost of daily necessities such as transport, fuel, basic foods, housing and utilities reach all-time highs." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Sponsored Content" author: "Momentum Health Solutions" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/momentum/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-09-26-incentivised-wellness-aligned-to-a-total-health-approach-is-key-to-improved-health-outcomes/" published: "2022-09-26T09:49:06" updated: "2022-10-02T11:35:08" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 609 --- # Incentivised wellness, aligned to a total health approach, is key to improved health outcomes > We continue to emerge from the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that created one of the most turbulent healthcare environments in our country’s history. While economic activity has opened up, we as consumers are all feeling the pinch as inflation rates increase and the cost of daily necessities such as transport, fuel, basic foods, housing and utilities reach all-time highs. By Momentum Health Solutions · Published 26 September 2022, 11:49 SAST · Updated 2 October 2022, 13:35 SAST ## Content These pressures are also being felt in the healthcare industry, where the deferment of annual increases and rising medicine, treatment and facilities costs are contributing to negative pressure on medical schemes’ solvency levels. The recent curatorship of Health Squared Medical Scheme, the first of its kind in South Africa, represents an important reality check for both medical schemes and consumers in terms of the importance of responsible and consistent governance. The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be understated. The strain placed on mental and physical health as people try and find a balance in their personal and professional lives is tangible. Now, more than ever, ensuring that you look after your overall wellbeing is critical. At Momentum Health Solutions, we have seen a marked increase in mental health claims across various treatment pathways. What has become abundantly clear is that a mental health challenge often gives rise to physical health challenges. Having monitored these changes amongst our member base, and on the back of the changing marketplace, we have adapted our product offering with innovative benefits and membership options that provide members with the choice to create a bespoke healthcare solution. We understand that each consumer has different needs, and rather than offering single-level benefit solutions we have created a basket of options that provides members with a variety of choices on how they can best structure their healthcare solution. In line with the above, we have made focused improvements to our Momentum Multiply offering to prioritise a total health approach – incorporating both physical and mental measures, rewarding members for taking ownership of their total health and overall wellness. The improved offering, which has shifted from being loyalty-driven to being health-driven, assists and motivates members to reach their goals in short periods of time – no waiting for years to advance in levels, and improved benefits, aligned to realistic and achievable goals. Aligned to this is our continued focus on offering more health to more South Africans for less, something that - with the uptake in our Health4Me product offering - we can see resonating with the wider South African market. This approach extends to contribution increases. In 2021, Momentum Medical Scheme deferred their annual increase from January to September. This year the Scheme is deferring contribution increases once again, with an 8.5% weighted average increase for the year coming into effect on 1 April 2023, equating to an effective annual increase of 6.4%. For us, the long-term sustainability of the Scheme is of paramount importance and must be protected. However, while we understand the immense strain placed on consumers’ pockets, we also need to consider that should a scheme implement a contribution increase that is below healthcare inflation, it would need to make up for this under-costing in subsequent years, resulting in higher contribution increases going forward. We are in the enviable position where Momentum Medical Scheme’s inflation outlook is slightly lower when compared to the broader market, as the Scheme’s member profile is at least two years younger than its next youngest competitor. As a result, the chronic disease burden and utilisation increase is lower year-on-year. Ultimately, we are looking to offer premium healthcare products that consumers can rely on, are flexible enough to suit their individual needs and are as affordable as possible. With consumers being forced to cut down on expenses, we need to ensure that we provide benefit solutions that cater for the challenging economic outlook and other unforeseen factors that may yet arise. In doing so, we are focused on protecting the future health of our business and, ultimately, our nation. **DM** ***Author:** Damian McHugh, Executive at Momentum Health Solutions.* ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DTOI9336-1.jpg) ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Momentum-Health-Solutions-Logo_colour.png)