To whom it may concern

Good day

I am member of Discovery Medical Aid on the Coastal Saver plan and even though this is not a RAF related, I would truly appreciate it if you would publish my story, as well as forward this mail to Advocate Ronald Bobroff, for his consideration.

I have had an immense amount of communication and interaction with Dr Ryan Noach, or as I prefer to call him, Dr Cockroach, the CEO/COO of Discovery Medical Aid.

I have have been a member of this pitiful joke for a medical aid for about 11 years, from 2003. Up until my heart heat attack and subsequent heart failure in 2008, Discovery hardly knew I existed as I was extremely fit and healthy. I do believe Discovery prefer and want a very healthy or very dead member!

The first 5 years I paid my monthly installments without fail, hardly using the medical aid during this period at all, apart from the odd dentist or Gp visit. The last 6 years have been an absolute nightmare trying to get chronic medication paid for by this circus masquerading as a Medical Aid, and more recently trying to get them to cover oxygen which I urgently need to survive. I have what is known as end stage heart failure with 25% Ejection Fraction remaining. My Cardiologist says I need this oxygen as I become very short of breath just by walking from one room to another in my home. I mostly sit still throughout the day and I have been this way since I was medically boarded in 2011. I am 49 years old and had my heart attack at age 42. I was told categorically, that due to the plan I am on I do not qualify for oxygen, but if I upgraded to the next level plan I would qualify, in my opinion this seems like fraudulent activity.

If the medical aid had agreed to pay the monthly fee of +-R 200 for the oxygen, they would've saved their shareholders 10's of thousands of Rand's possibly even 100's of thousands of Rand's! Due to my lack of oxygen my heart function deteriorated to the point where I required open heart surgery in 2011, in that year I was hospitalised 5 times, costing well over half a million Rand.

This year I've been hospitalised 4 times, the last time was for tests to see if I qualify to be put on the heart transplant list, which I have now been put on due to my end stage heart failure. 1 and a half days in the Cape Town Netcare hospital cost R26000, while the total figure amounted to over R55000! The reason I make mention of this is because I think if a medical aid is willing to pay R26000 for 36 hours in hospital, and basically this hospital, Netcare, does nothing except feed me 4 meals, then I think there is something inherently wrong with the way these clowns do business. The question begs to be asked is it possible that Dr Cockroach is getting some sort of backhander or kickback from Netcare having been the previous CEO of Netcare?!? I told him that he has personally lost his shareholders a lot of money by being so short sighted as to refusing someone with end stage heart failure a basic right of oxygen! I now have a apneoa/breathing machine which I had to buy out of my own pocket as Discovery didn't think it was a problem that I stopped breathing completely, on average 11 times an hour for about 30 secs each time while sleeping! To say Discovery is a huge disappointment is an understatement!

When I have problems with my breathing I just go to the local Mediclinic's Emergency Rooms and get myself admitted and get the oxygen I need. They cover this at a huge cost to their company, somebody please tell me where the logic is in all of this!

I feel for Advocate Bobroff as Discovery will try everything in their power to discredit, humiliate and intimidate him, that's how these clowns operate. If I could leave this circus I would, but due to my chronic heart disease there aren't many medical aid's lining up at my door.

I really hope the shareholders of Discovery get to read this and make a concerted effort to turn this circus into a real Medical Aid.

Yours Sincerely

A