CompCare Medical Scheme: plans, finances and who it suits in 2026

A solvency ratio measures the reserves a scheme holds against what it collects, and the law sets a minimum of 25%. CompCare's ratio fell from 25.14% in 2023 to 21.83% in 2024, according to the CMS Industry Report 2024 as reported by Moneyweb in December 2025.

CompCare told Moneyweb that the CMS approved its five-year recovery plan in 2024 and has approved its 2026 benefit options and product range. So the regulator knows about the position and has signed off the current range.

What this means for you: the scheme continues to operate under that plan. The risk is over time, such as larger increases or benefit changes while it rebuilds reserves. If you live with a chronic condition, or you are planning a long-term arrangement, that risk matters more than it does for a healthy 25-year-old.

For comparison, Genesis reported 239% at the end of 2025 and Thebemed 41.32%, though those are a year later than CompCare's latest published figure. See the Genesis review and Thebemed review. CompCare's size is also small: 36 600 beneficiaries was the figure given in 2023, and we found no current one.

• CompCare Wellness Medical Scheme is a CMS-registered open scheme (CMS 2024/25 register), administered by Universal Healthcare Administrators; it reported a solvency ratio of 21.83% for 2024, below the 25% statutory minimum, and is operating under a CMS-approved recovery plan. (medicalschemes.co.za)
• 2026 contribution increase: 9.49% average weighted contribution increase for 2026 (DigiCare 0%; benefits up 4% across the board). (fanews.co.za)
• CompCare's solvency ratio fell from 25.14% in 2023 to 21.83% in 2024, below the 25% statutory minimum (CMS Industry Report 2024, reported December 2025). (moneyweb.co.za)
• CompCare told Moneyweb the CMS approved its five-year recovery plan in 2024 and has approved its 2026 benefit options and product range. (moneyweb.co.za)
• CompCare announced an average weighted contribution increase of 9.49% for 2026, with a 4% across-the-board increase in benefits and 0% on DigiCare. (fanews.co.za)
• The scheme's plans page (September 2026 capture) lists seven plan families: SelfCare Plus, SaverCare Plus, SuperCare Plus, HospiCare, ExtraCare, UltraCare, ExecuCare. (web.archive.org)
• SelfCare Plus is aimed at Gen Z and young professionals under 30 looking for their first medical aid. (web.archive.org)
• HospiCare gives access to Netcare private hospitals. (web.archive.org)
• All members have access to unlimited professional nurse consultations via secure online chat; if a doctor consult is feasible online, members can save up to 30% on consultation fees via uConsult. (fanews.co.za)
• CompCare is administered by Universal Healthcare Administrators (Pty) Ltd, which also runs the Universal.one member app. (web.archive.org)
• Contact centre hours are 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. (web.archive.org)

CompCare Wellness Medical Scheme publishes 8 benefit options for 2026. Prices are the monthly contribution for a main member as published by CompCare. Adult and child dependants pay extra. Checked on 29 September 2026.

Sources: web.archive.org/.../compcare.co.za/2026-options, fanews.co.za/...nefits-balanced-prices/42437.

Universal Healthcare Administrators runs CompCare's day-to-day administration and its member app, Universal.one. It also administers Makoti Medical Scheme. If you saw "Universal" on your membership card or claims, that is the administrator. Thebemed has a plan called Universal too, but that is a different scheme.

Selfmed Medical Scheme no longer exists. The CMS confirmed its amalgamation into CompCare from 1 September 2019 (Circular 63 of 2019, dated 28 August 2019), and the surviving scheme kept the CompCare name. Selfmed does not appear on the CMS register of schemes as at 31 March 2025. The old selfmed.co.za web address now shows an unrelated betting site. Do not use it, and never enter member details there.

Checked on 29 September 2026 against CompCare's official website. Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. A scheme will not ask you to pay into a new bank account over the phone: hang up and call the official number if anything feels off.

Sources: web.archive.org/...://compcare.co.za/contact-us, aon.co.za/...hures/Benefit-Guide-2025.pdf. All schemes' numbers are on our medical aid contact numbers page.

An Above Threshold Benefit (ATB) is cover that starts once your savings or day-to-day limit is used up, so you are not paying everything yourself after that point. There is also a digital plan called DigiCare, described in a September 2025 launch article, with unlimited virtual doctor consultations and a 0% increase for 2026. It was not on the 2026 options page we checked, so ask the scheme whether it is still offered.

A note on our sources: CompCare's website blocked automated access, so the plan details come from archived copies of its official pages and press reports. The full contribution tables and per-plan brochures could not be retrieved, so confirm networks, limits and chronic condition counts in the current brochure.

No plan on CompCare's pages is marketed to students. The closest match is SelfCare Plus for people under 30, which gives unlimited hospital cover and a 10% savings account. DigiCare, if it is still offered, is also aimed at young people. Compare either with staying on a parent's plan before you decide. Read medical aid for students for the wider choice, and cheapest medical aid if price is the main issue.

CompCare's Universal.one app lets you show a digital membership card, submit and track claims, register a chronic condition, request hospital pre-authorisation and see statements. All members get unlimited professional nurse consultations by secure online chat. If a doctor consultation can be done online, you can save up to 30% on the consultation fee through uConsult.

For chronic conditions, CompCare covers the Prescribed Minimum Benefit chronic conditions, subject to registration and its formulary. We could not retrieve the benefit guide, so we have not given a condition count. See the prescribed minimum benefits guide and the chronic disease guide.

Emergencies go through Netcare 911, with unlimited emergency transport by road and air in South Africa according to the 2025 benefit guide. For an after-hours emergency admission, phone the pre-authorisation line on the next working day. See the pre-authorisation guide.

CompCare announced a 9.49% average weighted increase for 2026, with benefits up 4% across the board and 0% on DigiCare. The CMS's industry-weighted assumption for open schemes' 2026 increases, taken from scheme submissions, was 6.84%. Genesis announced 4.7%, Bestmed 6.8%, Medshield 7.5% and Bonitas 8.8%, so CompCare sits at the higher end.

Nothing had been announced for 2027 by 29 September 2026. The CMS recommends that 2027 increases be anchored at 3.8%, but a scheme that needs more can submit a business plan with actuarial justification, and the CMS text allows extra provision for solvency where a scheme's finances support it. CompCare's 2026 launch was reported in September 2025, so an announcement could come in the coming weeks. See our 2027 increases page.

Genesis is open and self-administered, with far higher reserves and a 4.7% increase, but only three options, none network-priced. See the Genesis review.

KeyHealth is an open, not-for-profit scheme administered by PPS Healthcare Administrators with a network hospital plan called Essence and network comprehensive options. Its 2026 increase was 8.4%. See the KeyHealth review.

Bonitas is the second largest open scheme by its own description, with a long list of options and BonCap as an income-based entry plan. Its 2026 average increase was 8.8%, and administration moved to Momentum Health on 1 June 2026. See the Bonitas review.

CompCare's strengths are a wide plan range, a Netcare hospital plan, a digital app and an under-30 option. The weaknesses are the solvency shortfall, the above-average 2026 increase and thin public detail.

CompCare says it offers cover to all South Africans, and as an open scheme it must accept any applicant who can pay. Waiting periods can still apply: up to 3 months general and 12 months condition-specific, which are legal maximums. If you are 35 or older with no proof of earlier cover, a late joiner penalty of 5%, 25%, 50% or 75% of your contribution can apply. See the waiting periods guide, late joiner penalty guide and how to join a medical aid.

Complain to CompCare first. If that fails, use the CMS at [email protected] or 0861 123 267. See how to complain to the CMS.