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First Mutual partners Momentum Health

Business
First Mutual Health has partnered Momentum Health to provide medical aid cover to an estimated 2 000 Zimbabwean students living in South Africa.

First Mutual Health has partnered Momentum Health to provide medical aid cover to an estimated 2 000 Zimbabwean students living in South Africa.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

Momentum Health is a South Africa-based company.

The agreement was launched yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of the agreement, Momentum Health’s sales head for the Student Segment Healthcare Distribution Rikki Erasmus said there was need for students studying in South Africa to obtain medical aid.

“That is the need of the partnership, to make sure that there is an office which can support the students because they need a South African medical scheme to obtain a study permit,” Erasmus said.

“The relationship with First Mutual works very well to give us that access because we do not have our own office here.”

Momentum Health has covered 6 060 Zimbabwean students since 2008.

The partnership will see the number growing to above 8 000.

The premiums that the students will be required to pay are roughly R350 per student per month for the duration of contract.

This partnership comes amid the growing need of Zimbabwean students studying in South for cover, but legislation did not allow students covered from Zimbabwe to access the medical insurance.

Children of current members and non-members from First Mutual Health who are studying in South Africa will receive cover through Momentum Health.

First Mutual Health general manager Stanford Sisya said the partnership came as a result of a gap in the market for medical insurance for Zimbabwean students studying in South Africa.

“We identified Momentum as a partner, they are very strong in terms of medical cover. I think they are the biggest scheme that covers student health in South Africa. We continue to look for opportunities and also service gaps that are there in the market,” Sisya said.

“One of the gaps we identified is this issue of students in South Africa, because when you look at the current legislation in South Africa, it does not allow medical aid customers from Zimbabwe to access services in South Africa. So, students have got to obtain medical aid from South Africa.”

Momentum Health was accredited and endorsed by the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) in 1991. The scheme established a strong relationship to ensure that it supported IEASA in representing the interests of those engaged in the internationalisation of higher education in South Africa.

Momentum Health covers 23 537 students from 148 different countries, at more than 1 200 different educational institutions.