Bonitas Increase 2027: What Every Option Will Cost

Last reviewed: October 2026. We review our guides regularly to keep them accurate.

By Hagop Jaghlassian, CEO and Certified Financial Planner at Curemed. Reviewed by Roxanne Hurter-Ehlers, Director of People and Governance.

Bonitas Medical Fund will increase contributions by an average of 8.7% across all plans for 2027, with the new rates applying from 1 January 2027, subject to approval by the Council for Medical Schemes. By option, the published increases run from 7.3% on BonCore, BonStart, BonStart Plus, BonFit and BonSave to 11.5% on the income-based BonCap. Standard Select closes and its members move to Standard, which now uses a hospital network and nominated GPs. Members who want to change option must submit the form by 30 November 2026. Curemed set the official Bonitas 2026 and 2027 figures side by side, and this article shows what every option will cost.

How much will each Bonitas option cost in 2027?

The 8.7% is an average across the whole scheme, so it is not the increase on any single option. The table shows the monthly contribution for a main member on each of the 14 options that are not income-based, together with the 2027 adult and child dependant rates. BonCap follows in its own table further down.

Two results stand out. First, Hospital Standard and the comprehensive options carry the larger increases. Hospital Standard rises by 10.7%, and at R3,942 a month for a main member it now costs more than Primary at R3,875. Second, the entry options rise by 7.3%, below the average. Bonitas treats dependants up to the age of 24 as child dependants, and on most options a family pays for a maximum of three children.

The Bonitas footnote says the percentages refer to the risk contribution on each plan. On BonPrime the published 9.0% matches the change in the total contribution. The savings portion on BonPrime rises from 16% to 18% of the contribution, and Moonstone reports that the risk portion rises by about 6.4%, which agrees with a Curemed cross check of the brochure figures.

What does a family of four pay on Bonitas in 2027?

Unlike some schemes, Bonitas has applied the same percentage to main member, adult and child rates on each option, so a family sees the same percentage as a single member. The rand difference is what grows. The table takes a main member, one adult dependant and two child dependants.

The family view changes the order at the bottom of the range. BonStart and BonCore charge the same rate for every beneficiary, child or adult. So while BonStart is cheaper than BonStart Plus for a single member, a family of four pays R6,880 a month on BonStart against R6,201 on BonStart Plus. A family on BonComprehensive pays R3,001 more a month, or R36,012 more over the year.

How do the BonCap income bands change for 2027?

BonCap is priced by household income and is subject to income verification. Every band rises by 11.5%, above every other Bonitas option. At the same time, Bonitas has raised the income bands. In 2026 the bottom band ran to R11,930 a month, and in 2027 it runs to R12,400. Where a spouse is registered, the higher of the two incomes sets the band.

Here is how the band shift can work in practice. A household earning R12,200 a month sat in the second band in 2026 and paid R2,111 for the main member. In 2027 the same income falls in the first band, at R1,929. A household whose income rose with inflation, on the other hand, will most likely stay in the same band and pay the full 11.5% more. Check the income Bonitas has on record before January.

What happens to Standard Select members in 2027?

Standard Select does not appear on the 2027 option list, and Bonitas has folded it into Standard. Standard Select cost R5,431 a month for a main member in 2026. Standard costs R6,474 in 2027, so a main member who moves across pays R1,043 more a month. That is a Curemed calculation from the two official figures.

Standard itself also changes shape. In 2026 it gave access to any private hospital. In 2027 it uses a list of specific private hospitals, with a 30% co-payment for using a hospital outside the network. Each beneficiary must nominate up to two network GPs for the year, the family has two visits to a GP who is not nominated, and consultations with a GP outside the network are limited to PMBs with a 30% co-payment.

Chronic cover narrows too. The 2026 Standard brochure covered 45 chronic conditions. The 2027 brochure covers 34, made up of the Bonitas list of 27 PMB chronic items, which counts diabetes type 1 and type 2 separately, plus seven others. The Chronic Disease List itself has 26 conditions. The chronic medicine limit rises from R13,030 to R13,590 per beneficiary. A Standard member on chronic medicine for a condition that falls outside the 34 should confirm before January how Bonitas will fund it.

The offset is the Benefit Booster, worth up to R12,000 per family on Standard: R3,000 per adult and R1,500 per child, unlocked in three steps. Members register for B Value and complete a wellness screening, then complete an online mental health assessment or have a flu vaccine in April or May, then have an HIV test.

Which other Bonitas benefits change for 2027?

• BonPrime: savings rise to 18% of the contribution, worth R18,540 a year for a family of four, and the Benefit Booster doubles from R4,000 to R8,000 per family.
• BonCap: the Benefit Booster arrives for the first time, at up to R1,000 per family once a wellness screening is completed.
• Emergency dental cover: a new emergency dental benefit appears on BonStart, BonStart Plus, BonSave, BonFit and BonPrime.
• BonEssential and BonEssential Select: both remain unlimited at network hospitals, but a non-PMB admission now carries a co-payment of R1,000 on BonEssential and R1,240 on BonEssential Select.
• GP Confirmation Benefit: where a wellness screening flags a potential health risk, an eligible beneficiary gets one risk-funded GP consultation within 14 days.
• Programmes: a back, neck, shoulder and knee rehabilitation programme, the Live Lean and Ocular Health programmes, and expanded mental health services.

Co-payments such as the BonEssential admission amounts and the 30% network penalties are the kind of cost that Gap Cover may help with, depending on the policy. Gap Cover is short-term insurance that pays out alongside a medical scheme, and it is not a medical scheme itself.

How does the Bonitas increase compare with other schemes?

As reported by Moonstone, the 8.7% average is above the 2027 averages stated by Discovery at 8.2%, Momentum at 7.9%, Medihelp at 7.5% and Bestmed at 7.35%. Averages are not directly comparable, because each one reflects a different membership and option mix. The more useful comparison is your own option against an option of similar cover elsewhere, which the Curemed medical aid comparison sets out.

All of these averages sit well above the 3.8% anchor that the Council for Medical Schemes recommended for 2027 in Circular 20 of 2026, which allows schemes to add a provision for solvency based on their own financial position. Bonitas reported a solvency ratio of 36.9% for 2025, against a regulatory requirement of 25%, with 369,186 principal members and 792,330 lives covered.

What should Bonitas members do before 30 November?

Start with your own option in the tables above rather than the 8.7%. Then work through three checks.

1. Standard and Standard Select members: confirm that your hospital and GPs are on the 2027 network and that your chronic condition is on the list of 34.
2. Hospital Standard members: with a 10.7% increase, compare the cost with Primary and with hospital plans at other schemes. Our list of hospital plans under R1,500 covers the lower price points.
3. Families on BonStart: compare the family total with BonStart Plus, where child rates are lower.

The Bonitas 2027 change of option form must be submitted by 30 November 2026, or by 31 October for Persal members, and the change applies from 1 January 2027. Our guide on how to choose a medical aid in South Africa sets out the questions to ask before you sign.

Standard Select members moving onto a network, GP nomination and a shorter chronic list will face new authorisations and chronic medication applications in January. That scheme admin is what CureClub, the Curemed member support team, takes on. It deals with the medical scheme on behalf of the member, from authorisations before procedures to chronic medication applications and outstanding claims, and escalates when the scheme gets something wrong. CureClub is open to anyone on a registered South African medical scheme.

If you would like help with your 2027 Bonitas options, a Curemed Advisor can compare your current option with the alternatives inside and outside the scheme, work through the family arithmetic with you, and show where Gap Cover may help with co-payments and shortfalls, depending on the policy. A member with another intermediary can move to Curemed as Advisor of record without changing option or scheme. Curemed has advised members since 1992 across all nine provinces, with no obligation attached to a conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Who claims the tax credit when a parent pays a Bonitas contribution?

The medical scheme fees tax credit belongs to the taxpayer who paid the contributions, not automatically to the person named as the member. For the 2027 tax year it is R376 a month for the first person, R752 for two and R254 for each additional dependant. If a parent pays the BonStart contribution of a 23 year old who is the main member, the parent claims the credit, provided the young adult is a dependant of the parent for tax purposes. The same contributions may not be claimed by two taxpayers. The Curemed medical aid tax credit calculator works out the amount.

Does changing option within Bonitas start a new waiting period?

In general, no. Section 29A of the Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998 prevents a scheme from imposing a new waiting period on a member who changes options within the same scheme. A member who is still serving a waiting period continues to serve it.

Who counts as a child dependant on Bonitas in 2027?

Bonitas charges child rates for dependants up to the age of 24. On most options a family pays for a maximum of three children, and further children join without an extra contribution. BonStart and BonCore are different, because every beneficiary pays the same rate.

How do you unlock the Bonitas Benefit Booster?

Register for B Value and complete a wellness screening, which Bonitas offers at Clicks, Dis-Chem and Medirite pharmacies. On Standard that first step unlocks the first level, and two further actions unlock the rest. The value depends on the option: up to R12,000 per family on Standard, R8,000 on BonPrime and R1,000 on BonCap.

Is Hospital Standard still cheaper than Primary in 2027?

Not for a main member. Hospital Standard costs R3,942 a month in 2027 against R3,875 on Primary, because Hospital Standard rises by 10.7% and Primary by 8.0%. For a family of four, Hospital Standard costs R10,258 and Primary R9,371. The two options cover different things, so compare the benefits as well as the price.

Hagop Jaghlassian

CEO and Certified Financial Planner | Curemed Health and Wealth Consultants

More about Hagop