Bonitas Medical Fund
Verified Business
Bonitas Medical Fund
Verified Business
1,177 Reviews (last 12 months)
Responds in 8 hours 20 min
AI Review Summary
Based on recent customer reviews, Bonitas Medical Fund faces severe criticism across virtually every dimension of its service. Customers consistently describe unresolved refund delays, rejected or short-paid claims, poor call centre responsiveness, billing errors, and chronic medication delivery failures linked to its pharmacy partner Marara. While a small number of members praise individual consultants and emergency hospital coverage, the overwhelming pattern is one of systemic administrative failure and member frustration.
Top Strengths:
- •Customer Service & Staff Quality: A handful of named consultants such as Irene, Luyanda, Sipho, and Phenyo receive genuine praise for patience and professionalism. Members occasionally describe feeling heard and treated with compassion during difficult moments.
Service Quality Ratings
MetricScoreIndustry AvgBest in Class
Performance(last 12 months):
3.7Trustindex Rating
#4Ranked In Medical Aid
8 hours 20 minutesAverage Time To Reply
-76 NPSRecommended: Unlikely
Replied to 94% of negative reviews
Typically takes less than 8 hours 32 min to reply
TrustIndex
3.7
Score
Ranking
#4
in Medical Aid
Avg Reply
8 hours 20 minutes
NPS Score
-76
Recommended: Unlikely
Replied to 94% of negative reviews
Typically takes less than 8 hours 32 min to reply
Review Distribution
1.4|1,177 Reviews
May '25 - Apr '26
5(7.8%)
4(1.7%)
3(1.6%)
2(4.4%)
1(84.4%)
5(7.8%)
4(1.7%)
3(1.6%)
2(4.4%)
1(84.4%)
Recent reviews (1,177)
Used this business recently? Share your experience to help others decide.
Used this business recently? Share your experience to help others decide.
Share Your ExperiencePopular mentions
LM
Lehlohonolo M
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
19 Mar 2026, 05:12
Not responding to my emails
Title: Bonitas Medical Aid – No Response to Request for Claim Records I am requesting assistance regarding the lack of response from Bonitas Medical Fund. My name is Lehlohonolo Exley Motitimi, a former Bonitas member (Boncap Option) under membership number 47002774751. I sent a formal request to Bonitas requesting my claim records relating to treatment at Wilmed Park Hospital in October 2019. These records are necessary to clarify a billing dispute that has resulted in serious financial consequences for me. Specifically, I requested: • Confirmation of my membership status during 2019 • Claim history submitted by Wilmed Park Hospital • Authorisation records • Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and rejection codes • Claim audit trail for the hospital submission This information is part of my personal membership records and is required to resolve a dispute affecting my credit profile. Despite sending a detailed request, Bonitas has not responded. I am simply requesting access to my own claim records so that I can understand how the claim was processed. I kindly ask Bonitas to assist by providing the requested documents or advising the correct process to obtain them. Lehlohonolo Exley Motitimi
Helpful (0)
|Replies (0)LM
Lehlohonolo M
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
19 Mar 2026, 05:12
Not responding to my emails
Title: Bonitas Medical Aid – No Response to Request for Claim Records I am requesting assistance regarding the lack of response from Bonitas Medical Fund. My name is Lehlohonolo Exley Motitimi, a former Bonitas member (Boncap Option) under membership number 47002774751. I sent a formal request to Bonitas requesting my claim records relating to treatment at Wilmed Park Hospital in October 2019. These records are necessary to clarify a billing dispute that has resulted in serious financial consequences for me. Specifically, I requested: • Confirmation of my membership status during 2019 • Claim history submitted by Wilmed Park Hospital • Authorisation records • Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and rejection codes • Claim audit trail for the hospital submission This information is part of my personal membership records and is required to resolve a dispute affecting my credit profile. Despite sending a detailed request, Bonitas has not responded. I am simply requesting access to my own claim records so that I can understand how the claim was processed. I kindly ask Bonitas to assist by providing the requested documents or advising the correct process to obtain them. Lehlohonolo Exley Motitimi
0
Replies (0)M
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Sphiwe N
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 13:05
Disappointing
I can’t believe that I have to pay cash for consultation for my infants follow up consultation after he was discharged from hospital because Bonitas has not added my son on the scheme even though my HR sent everything to them last week already. if it’s not rejecting claims, it’s this, horrible
Helpful (0)
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Sphiwe N
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 13:05
Disappointing
I can’t believe that I have to pay cash for consultation for my infants follow up consultation after he was discharged from hospital because Bonitas has not added my son on the scheme even though my HR sent everything to them last week already. if it’s not rejecting claims, it’s this, horrible
0
Replies (0)TvdM
Thinus van der Merwe
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 12:44
Don't waste your money on Bonitas Medical Aid
For the people that think that Bonitas (Bon Start) is an cheap medical aid I just want to give them an eye opener. It start of with a monthly fee of R1498.00 per month on 1 October 2025 where I was informed that there is a three (3) months waiting period. The understanding was that my Chronic Disease List (CDL) conditions would be paid (after this waiting period) only to be informed afterwards that it is excluded. Secondly Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs) had to be paid immediately only to be informed that it is excluded for three (3) months, which is illegitimate. Law further determine that PMB's must be provided according to formulator rates which they do not comply with. Furthermore they falsely advertise that GP's will be paid 100% scheme rate after the three (3) months waiting period . Only to find that you actually have R1160 (per year) for such visits that is equivalent to one consultation. Another ridiculous benefit is that the over the counter medication is limited to R110 per event and R545 per year. You will only have enough funds for maybe a packet of Disprins and the rest you will pay yourself. Being honest about my chronic conditions its getting excluded for a year. This means no benefit as prescribed. And for the ones that though you have a full in-hospital cover there is another eye opener that you are going to be accountable for most of the bills that can be thousands of rands. Just to sum summarize your benefit it can be mentioned that you are going to pay more than R18 000.00 per year while your benefits is about R1800 for doctors visits and over the counter medication. This is in contradiction with other Medical Service providers that monthly fee is about R500 per member, Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs) as mandated by law, ensuring coverage for 270+ hospital conditions, 26 Chronic Disease List (CDL) conditions, and emergency medical treatment, regardless of the plan option. These are covered in full, subject to using Designated Service Providers (DSPs) and formulary guidelines. Furthermore you have unlimited doctor consultations paid in full. For another R200 more you will also receive a hospital plan for about R 1 million for accidents and trauma conditions that will require hospitalization. After receiving NO services and have paid about a total of R7500 for not using the Bonitas Scheme I had cancelled their service with immediate effect. Upon that they had the audacity to inform me that I have to give a months notice for now service and also have to pay the increased premium of R1603 for further no service until my membership is terminated. This medical plan is nothing more than a **** and I will also report Bonitas Medical Aid to the Council for Medical Schemes since they doing false advertising and ripping the members off their hard earned money.
Helpful (0)
|Replies (0)TvdM
Thinus van der Merwe
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 12:44
Don't waste your money on Bonitas Medical Aid
For the people that think that Bonitas (Bon Start) is an cheap medical aid I just want to give them an eye opener. It start of with a monthly fee of R1498.00 per month on 1 October 2025 where I was informed that there is a three (3) months waiting period. The understanding was that my Chronic Disease List (CDL) conditions would be paid (after this waiting period) only to be informed afterwards that it is excluded. Secondly Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs) had to be paid immediately only to be informed that it is excluded for three (3) months, which is illegitimate. Law further determine that PMB's must be provided according to formulator rates which they do not comply with. Furthermore they falsely advertise that GP's will be paid 100% scheme rate after the three (3) months waiting period . Only to find that you actually have R1160 (per year) for such visits that is equivalent to one consultation. Another ridiculous benefit is that the over the counter medication is limited to R110 per event and R545 per year. You will only have enough funds for maybe a packet of Disprins and the rest you will pay yourself. Being honest about my chronic conditions its getting excluded for a year. This means no benefit as prescribed. And for the ones that though you have a full in-hospital cover there is another eye opener that you are going to be accountable for most of the bills that can be thousands of rands. Just to sum summarize your benefit it can be mentioned that you are going to pay more than R18 000.00 per year while your benefits is about R1800 for doctors visits and over the counter medication. This is in contradiction with other Medical Service providers that monthly fee is about R500 per member, Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs) as mandated by law, ensuring coverage for 270+ hospital conditions, 26 Chronic Disease List (CDL) conditions, and emergency medical treatment, regardless of the plan option. These are covered in full, subject to using Designated Service Providers (DSPs) and formulary guidelines. Furthermore you have unlimited doctor consultations paid in full. For another R200 more you will also receive a hospital plan for about R 1 million for accidents and trauma conditions that will require hospitalization. After receiving NO services and have paid about a total of R7500 for not using the Bonitas Scheme I had cancelled their service with immediate effect. Upon that they had the audacity to inform me that I have to give a months notice for now service and also have to pay the increased premium of R1603 for further no service until my membership is terminated. This medical plan is nothing more than a **** and I will also report Bonitas Medical Aid to the Council for Medical Schemes since they doing false advertising and ripping the members off their hard earned money.
0
Replies (0)TK
Thokozani K
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 11:38
Disgusting Dishonest Service
Absolutely appalling service from the claims agent called Zandile in the claims department and even worse service from her team leader who cam on the call to address me after Zandile clearly didn't know what the hell she was doing. I have been trying to get my chronic meds for the past 2 weeks (major depressive disorders patient) without any luck. My meds were out of formulary. I called and the chronic department said all is well on theie side, I just need Dr or the Pharmacy to call claims department and they would fix it. Pharmacy struggled to get through the whole week. Eventually I decided it's 2 weeks without meds now, I'm gonna loose it. So I call to get a direct number so the pharmacist can call on it and be able to facilitate me getting my meds. I get to Zandile. She doesn't know what she's doing, putting me on hold after every paragraph, you can hear someone coaching her in the background for 23mins of the call. She told me Iust go online and look up if my medication is covered on the plan and ask Dr to get generics. It wasn't the first time getting these meds, what has changed now that my med aid doesn't cover them all of a sudden??? So i ask for a supervisor and she tellsw he won't be available because it's after 5 and they close at 5. I've worked at contact centre for a bank before, I know team leaders can't leave before all agents have logged off and I tell her I need to speak to him. He comes on the line with an attitude and doesn't wait for me to relay my concern to him, instead he TELLS ME what my query is and because Im on the lowest plan I need to take generics for my medical aid because they are not covered. They change every year in July so it might have been covered but now it's not. I started taking these meds around Oct Nov last year, it hasn't even been a year since I took them and all of a sudden they are not covered now again. I took them on January again but in March they are not covered? He said I must go to a very long list on the Medscheme website (he acknowledges that it's extremely long, mind you) and see that my medication is not there and tell my Psychiatrist to prescribe generis because my plan, the lowest plan, doesn't cover this. I hung up on him. And told the pharmacy to call again. The pharmacy lady spoke to me today and said it was utter ******* what I was told. She went through to Wendy and she said they a lower dose of the meds was approved and because it is now adjusted, they needed to re-approve. And my meds just went through and the claim clocked into my email. The generic bull**** was just that to get me off the phone. Well they need to be held accountable for incorrect information about to a client. I'm not donating to the scheme, I'm paying hard earned money. This is the first complain, the next one is with the scheme complains department. I want them to be brought to book. May they never so this again to someone else who is already battling a chronic condition.
Helpful (0)
|Replies (0)TK
Thokozani K
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 11:38
Disgusting Dishonest Service
Absolutely appalling service from the claims agent called Zandile in the claims department and even worse service from her team leader who cam on the call to address me after Zandile clearly didn't know what the hell she was doing. I have been trying to get my chronic meds for the past 2 weeks (major depressive disorders patient) without any luck. My meds were out of formulary. I called and the chronic department said all is well on theie side, I just need Dr or the Pharmacy to call claims department and they would fix it. Pharmacy struggled to get through the whole week. Eventually I decided it's 2 weeks without meds now, I'm gonna loose it. So I call to get a direct number so the pharmacist can call on it and be able to facilitate me getting my meds. I get to Zandile. She doesn't know what she's doing, putting me on hold after every paragraph, you can hear someone coaching her in the background for 23mins of the call. She told me Iust go online and look up if my medication is covered on the plan and ask Dr to get generics. It wasn't the first time getting these meds, what has changed now that my med aid doesn't cover them all of a sudden??? So i ask for a supervisor and she tellsw he won't be available because it's after 5 and they close at 5. I've worked at contact centre for a bank before, I know team leaders can't leave before all agents have logged off and I tell her I need to speak to him. He comes on the line with an attitude and doesn't wait for me to relay my concern to him, instead he TELLS ME what my query is and because Im on the lowest plan I need to take generics for my medical aid because they are not covered. They change every year in July so it might have been covered but now it's not. I started taking these meds around Oct Nov last year, it hasn't even been a year since I took them and all of a sudden they are not covered now again. I took them on January again but in March they are not covered? He said I must go to a very long list on the Medscheme website (he acknowledges that it's extremely long, mind you) and see that my medication is not there and tell my Psychiatrist to prescribe generis because my plan, the lowest plan, doesn't cover this. I hung up on him. And told the pharmacy to call again. The pharmacy lady spoke to me today and said it was utter ******* what I was told. She went through to Wendy and she said they a lower dose of the meds was approved and because it is now adjusted, they needed to re-approve. And my meds just went through and the claim clocked into my email. The generic bull**** was just that to get me off the phone. Well they need to be held accountable for incorrect information about to a client. I'm not donating to the scheme, I'm paying hard earned money. This is the first complain, the next one is with the scheme complains department. I want them to be brought to book. May they never so this again to someone else who is already battling a chronic condition.
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Replies (0)DM
Dineo M
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 11:26
*****sters
I have been with the medical aid since 2015 but extremely disappointed in how they are handling my claim. I had two operations in January and February. Authorization was requested but when they had to pay "they didn't see the Authorizations". I called and provided the claims which "they miraculously saw and were approved by the hospital claims but they are not linked to claims department " They escalated and gave me a 20 days TAT. When I call after two days its back to square one. Starting the process from the beginning. Meanwhile service providers want their money. This is very unprofessional to say the least.
Helpful (0)
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Dineo M
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 11:26
*****sters
I have been with the medical aid since 2015 but extremely disappointed in how they are handling my claim. I had two operations in January and February. Authorization was requested but when they had to pay "they didn't see the Authorizations". I called and provided the claims which "they miraculously saw and were approved by the hospital claims but they are not linked to claims department " They escalated and gave me a 20 days TAT. When I call after two days its back to square one. Starting the process from the beginning. Meanwhile service providers want their money. This is very unprofessional to say the least.
0
Replies (0)MP
Michael P
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 10:25
Toal lack of requests for information and assistance fron Boncap. Zero stars for this business
Virtually every month after repeated written requests to Boncap for our monthly statement to be sent to us we have to spend hours on the 'phone to Boncap requesting a statement. It doesn't help emailing them because all you get in reply are NO REPLY mails, which help absolutely diddly squat. Since the 10th of this month, I have emailed them 4 times without any success at all. It is imperative that we receive these statements timeously as we currently have a lot of claims worth a lot of money to submit to our Gap Cover for a life-threatening situation which put my wife in ICU for 7 days over the Christmas period and another 2 days in the medical ward (18th to 26th December 2025.) As SASSA pensioners we are only able to afford medical aid because our son pays our subscriptions for us, we cannot afford to lose out on Gap Cover claims due to Boncap's laxity. Last week my wife spent R147.00 out of her monthly airtime budget of R150.00 on the phone to Boncap with absolutely zero result from Boncap. A lot of that time was going through their "choices" of which department etc. we would like to talk to. We eventually got to the stage where they asked us to put in our membership number 47003278012 only to be told that that membership number was 'inactive'. Absolute and utter bull. Last week we spent a lot of time and petrol which we could ill afford to travel to their client walk in branch only to be told that they had moved. No forwarding address etc. on the old office windows. Luckily a security guard there was able to provide us with the new address details, we went there and the assistant there was about as much use as a wet tissue. Another issue we have with Boncap is getting their list of DSP hospitals which we have requested numerous times. We need these especially for our area as they seem to change these on a regular basis. In a current emergency we would have no clue as to where to go. Boncap's problems are now being compounded by their internal squabbles between themselves, Medscheme and PHA which means even less care and attention being paid to their clients. It is a pity that your portal does not have half or even zero-star ratings as Boncap would most definitely receive a zero-star rating from me. Main member: Mr. Michalakis Papadopoulos. Dependent: Mrs. Tessa . Membership number: 47003278012
Helpful (0)
|Replies (0)MP
Michael P
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 10:25
Toal lack of requests for information and assistance fron Boncap. Zero stars for this business
Virtually every month after repeated written requests to Boncap for our monthly statement to be sent to us we have to spend hours on the 'phone to Boncap requesting a statement. It doesn't help emailing them because all you get in reply are NO REPLY mails, which help absolutely diddly squat. Since the 10th of this month, I have emailed them 4 times without any success at all. It is imperative that we receive these statements timeously as we currently have a lot of claims worth a lot of money to submit to our Gap Cover for a life-threatening situation which put my wife in ICU for 7 days over the Christmas period and another 2 days in the medical ward (18th to 26th December 2025.) As SASSA pensioners we are only able to afford medical aid because our son pays our subscriptions for us, we cannot afford to lose out on Gap Cover claims due to Boncap's laxity. Last week my wife spent R147.00 out of her monthly airtime budget of R150.00 on the phone to Boncap with absolutely zero result from Boncap. A lot of that time was going through their "choices" of which department etc. we would like to talk to. We eventually got to the stage where they asked us to put in our membership number 47003278012 only to be told that that membership number was 'inactive'. Absolute and utter bull. Last week we spent a lot of time and petrol which we could ill afford to travel to their client walk in branch only to be told that they had moved. No forwarding address etc. on the old office windows. Luckily a security guard there was able to provide us with the new address details, we went there and the assistant there was about as much use as a wet tissue. Another issue we have with Boncap is getting their list of DSP hospitals which we have requested numerous times. We need these especially for our area as they seem to change these on a regular basis. In a current emergency we would have no clue as to where to go. Boncap's problems are now being compounded by their internal squabbles between themselves, Medscheme and PHA which means even less care and attention being paid to their clients. It is a pity that your portal does not have half or even zero-star ratings as Boncap would most definitely receive a zero-star rating from me. Main member: Mr. Michalakis Papadopoulos. Dependent: Mrs. Tessa . Membership number: 47003278012
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Replies (0)B
Ben
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 09:30
Formal Complaint Regarding Claim Submission Experience
Dear Bonitas Team, I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction and frustration with the experience I have had over the past month while attempting to submit a personal claim. In the first week of February 2026, I underwent a ***** analysis as requested by my doctor. The laboratory advised that the procedure could not be processed directly through my medical aid. However, as this was a doctor-requested test and I have a savings benefit available, I reasonably expected that I would be able to claim for it. Prior to proceeding, I contacted Bonitas to confirm whether the claim would be covered. Unfortunately, I was unable to receive a clear yes or no answer. I proceeded with the test and submitted my claim via your website. The submission process itself is quite limited, as it only allows for one document to be uploaded, which made it difficult to provide all necessary information upfront. After submitting, I received no feedback for over a week despite multiple follow-ups. I then contacted your WhatsApp support line and was advised that a claims invoice was required. By this stage, we were already nearing the end of February. I had to go back to the laboratory to obtain the correct documentation. Once received, I submitted the invoice via your email portal, including all relevant documents. After another week, I was informed that the submission was incorrect. I then resubmitted only the claims invoice, as instructed, but after waiting yet another week, I was again told it was not correct. At this point, I had no choice but to contact the WhatsApp support line again. I was then informed that the issue was due to the document being password-protected, which had prevented processing from even starting. This had not been communicated to me earlier. I immediately unlocked the document and submitted it via WhatsApp. Only then, on 16 March, was my claim finally submitted. To my disappointment, the claim was subsequently rejected on the basis of “invalid or insufficient information provided.” I cannot adequately express how frustrating and time-consuming this entire process has been. I have consistently paid my premiums, adhered to all increases, and even expanded my portfolio with Bonitas. Despite this, I have experienced poor communication, repeated delays, and an overall lack of customer service. This experience has been extremely disappointing and has led me to seriously consider moving to another medical aid provider. I request a full review of my claim, along with a clear explanation of the rejection, and guidance on exactly what is required to successfully process this claim. I trust this matter will be addressed with urgency.
Helpful (0)
|Replies (0)B
Ben
1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
18 Mar 2026, 09:30
Formal Complaint Regarding Claim Submission Experience
Dear Bonitas Team, I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction and frustration with the experience I have had over the past month while attempting to submit a personal claim. In the first week of February 2026, I underwent a ***** analysis as requested by my doctor. The laboratory advised that the procedure could not be processed directly through my medical aid. However, as this was a doctor-requested test and I have a savings benefit available, I reasonably expected that I would be able to claim for it. Prior to proceeding, I contacted Bonitas to confirm whether the claim would be covered. Unfortunately, I was unable to receive a clear yes or no answer. I proceeded with the test and submitted my claim via your website. The submission process itself is quite limited, as it only allows for one document to be uploaded, which made it difficult to provide all necessary information upfront. After submitting, I received no feedback for over a week despite multiple follow-ups. I then contacted your WhatsApp support line and was advised that a claims invoice was required. By this stage, we were already nearing the end of February. I had to go back to the laboratory to obtain the correct documentation. Once received, I submitted the invoice via your email portal, including all relevant documents. After another week, I was informed that the submission was incorrect. I then resubmitted only the claims invoice, as instructed, but after waiting yet another week, I was again told it was not correct. At this point, I had no choice but to contact the WhatsApp support line again. I was then informed that the issue was due to the document being password-protected, which had prevented processing from even starting. This had not been communicated to me earlier. I immediately unlocked the document and submitted it via WhatsApp. Only then, on 16 March, was my claim finally submitted. To my disappointment, the claim was subsequently rejected on the basis of “invalid or insufficient information provided.” I cannot adequately express how frustrating and time-consuming this entire process has been. I have consistently paid my premiums, adhered to all increases, and even expanded my portfolio with Bonitas. Despite this, I have experienced poor communication, repeated delays, and an overall lack of customer service. This experience has been extremely disappointing and has led me to seriously consider moving to another medical aid provider. I request a full review of my claim, along with a clear explanation of the rejection, and guidance on exactly what is required to successfully process this claim. I trust this matter will be addressed with urgency.
0
Replies (0)