More healthcare news snippets ...

Medical costs are extensively tax deductible

MEDICAL aid costs and general medical expenses are fairly extensively tax deductible and hard pressed consumers should not act too hastily when it comes to cancelling or downgrading their medical aid cover.

Medical aid cover is not merely a nice to have and that, while cancelling or reducing that cover may bring temporary relief to the household budget, it's in fact "false economy" that exposes you to potentially huge medical expense risk.

Retain your medical aid cover if it's at all financially feasible to do so.

While this obviously affects cash flow in the short term, a large proportion of medical expenses is deductible in a given tax year and it's far preferable to remain covered for medical costs until those deductions begin to filter through.

The tax benefits for medical aid contributions and medical expenditure are straightforward and can quite easily be explained.

The tax-free allowance granted by the receiver toward medical aid contributions during a given tax year, now amounts to R670 per month for the member and the first dependant and R410 per month for every other dependant.

This works out at a substantial R2 160 deduction pm (R25 920 pa) for a family of four, applicable after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced some welcome relief on the tax front for medical contributions in his Budget speech.

In addition to that, the Receiver allows against tax, your contribution that exceeds this total, together with the unclaimed portion of your general medical expenses (the amount not paid by your medical aid) where the total of those amounts exceeds 7.5 % of your taxable earnings.

Also, taxpayers over the age of 65 enjoy a full deduction for qualifying medical aid contributions and expenses while taxpayers under 65 may claim all qualifying medical expenses where the taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse or child is disabled. So taken as a whole, these deductions and potential deductions can be substantial.
It should be kept in mind however that any contribution made by the employer on behalf of the employee toward his medical aid contribution, either by way of a subsidy or a salary sacrifice is regarded as income in the hands of the employee and this has to be taken into account in your tax calculations.

The exception to this rule is where a company subsidises low income staff medical cover in which case that contribution is still 100% tax deductible for the employee, resulting in a ‘zero effect', tax wise for the employee.

Other tax-free exceptions apply where contributions are made by a company on behalf of pensioners, or dependants of deceased pensioners.

The fundamental fact is that medical expenses for individuals are already substantially tax deductible and maintaining your medical aid membership is crucially important against the background of rising medical costs and the alternative of being reliant upon the State health system.

The Citizen, 17 May 2010

Tourists given health guide for the World Cup

THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has developed a health guide for tourists visiting South Africa for the FIFA World Cup, the institute said on Friday.

The guide was developed and posted on its website to prevent visitors from acquiring communicable diseases during the World Cup, the NICD said in a statement.

"Major anticipated health risks [for visitors] may include cold-related illness, food-borne and waterborne illness, communicable diseases and incidents related to trauma and other types of injuries," the NICD said.

"The diseases which can occur during such events might be from conditions which are endemic to the country or can be imported by the visitors."

The NICD encouraged visitors to take medical precautions and consult their doctor prior to arriving in South Africa.

The health guide offers tourists information on a variety of diseases such as malaria, measles and Rift Valley Fever.

Visitors are also advised about safe food and water consumption.

"We provide general travel recommendations focusing on preventive measures that will assist visitors in experiencing a healthy World Cup," the NICD said.

SAPA, 30 May 2010

New registrar for medical schemes

THE Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has announced that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has appointed Dr Monwabisi Gantsho as the new registrar of medical schemes. Gantsho, who has a "wealth of knowledge and experience in the medical industry", will also occupy the position of CMS chief executive. Gantsho, a medical doctor, spent five years in a senior management position at the South African Medical Association and has a Masters degree in political science and economics. A member of the World Medical Association, Gantsho was also a fellow at the University of Cape Town and Duke University in the Unites States.

SAPA, 2 June 2010

Swine flu vaccine boost

THE health Department has obtained 3.5 million doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine - good news for high-risk patients who have not obtained the vaccine before winter sets in. The department has asked the private sector to help with a nationwide immunisation campaign for high-risk patients. Those eligible to receive the swine flu vaccine were: pregnant women; patients with HIV and AIDS, who qualified for antiretrovirals (including children over six months); patients with chronic heart disease (including children over six months); and, patients with chronic lung disease (including children over six months). Vaccinations will be available from Clicks and Link Pharmacy clinics.

SAPA, 8 June 2010

Social aspects of AIDS to be studied

THE Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the two institutions will share expertise on the social aspects of HIV/AIDS for the next five years, and publish a new journal on the subject. The agreement has been hailed as a unique opportunity to develop and nurture expertise in the field of HIV/AIDS research. Prof Leickness Simbayi, director of the HSRC's Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health research programme, said the agreement would see researchers in this field collaborating on an editorial board, co-publishing the journal and co-hosting the biennial Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (Sahara) conference. Sahara is a network of African researchers on the social and behavioural aspects of HIV/AIDS. Prof Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya, director of Sahara, will serve as executive editor of the Journal of the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS. The university's vice-chancellor, Derrick Swartz, said the deal provided a platform for rigorous scholarship into HIV/AIDS social dynamics that should provide an important empirical basis for the thinking around national policy and strategy in combating the pandemic.

Luphert Chilwane: Business Day, 15 June 2010