Discovery KeyCare plans in 2026: Plus, Core, Start and Start Regional explained

These are the total monthly contributions for the main member, from 1 April 2026. Each plan has several income bands, and the table shows the lowest and the highest.

KeyCare Start has four income bands, and KeyCare Plus and Core have a band between the two shown. The full table, including adult dependant and child rates, is in Discovery's 2026 contribution table. Ask Discovery which income counts for the band, because that decides your price.

A worked example. A main member in the lowest band pays R1 278 on KeyCare Start Regional or R1 961 on KeyCare Plus. If income later reaches R25 151, the same Start Regional plan costs R3 430, which is more than double. A raise can move you up a band.

• KeyCare Plus: network in-hospital and out-of-hospital cover with income-based contributions and no medical savings account. It has the highest KeyCare prices.
• KeyCare Core: a KeyCare series network plan, also income-based, priced below KeyCare Plus at both ends of the income scale.
• KeyCare Start: a network plan that uses the KeyCare Start GP network, with four income bands.
• KeyCare Start Regional: KeyCare Start using a regional GP network. It is the lowest-priced Discovery plan in 2026.

We have not verified the detailed benefit limits for each plan, such as day-to-day sub-limits, dentistry and optometry, so read Discovery's benefit guide for the plan you are considering. Our co-payments and sub-limits guide explains the terms.

All KeyCare plans work through a network. You get the plan's full benefits when you use network doctors and hospitals, and using an outside provider by choice can leave you paying the difference or a co-payment. KeyCare Start uses a KeyCare Start GP network, and KeyCare Start Regional uses a regional GP network, so check that a network GP and a network hospital are close to your home and work before you choose.

The rules on Prescribed Minimum Benefits protect you. A scheme may make you use a designated service provider (DSP) for PMB conditions and charge a co-payment if you use another provider voluntarily. No co-payment is allowed if you use a non-DSP involuntarily, for example when the DSP cannot help without unreasonable delay or none is within reasonable distance of home or work. In an emergency you may go to the nearest facility and the scheme must cover the cost. See designated service providers, pre-authorisation and prescribed minimum benefits.

We do not publish the KeyCare hospital and doctor lists, because they change. Use the provider search on Discovery's site or in the Discovery Health app.

KeyCare tends to suit:

• People on lower and middle incomes who want a real medical scheme without a large contribution.
• Healthy adults and families who are happy to use a network GP and network hospitals.

It suits you less if:

• You have long-standing specialist needs, or a doctor or hospital you will not give up.
• You live or work far from network providers.
• You want a medical savings account. KeyCare has none, so day-to-day cover is whatever the plan provides.
• Your income sits at the top of a band and may rise. The price rises with it, so compare the Smart series with flat contributions.

See low income medical aid for the wider picture and network versus traditional plans for the trade-offs.

Inside Discovery, the closest alternatives are the Smart series and the Core hospital plans. Smart plans are network plans with flat contributions and no savings account, from Active Smart at R1 350 (held flat for 2026) through Essential Dynamic Smart at R1 797 and Essential Smart at R2 161 to Classic Smart at R3 018. Core plans are hospital plans with no day-to-day cover, and they start at R2 681 for Essential Delta Core. See hospital plans explained.

Outside Discovery, other open schemes have income-based entry plans: Bonitas BonCap, Bestmed's Rhythm options and Momentum Ingwe. Compare the network, the hospital list and the price for your own income. Our Discovery Health review shows the whole range.

Discovery deferred all 2026 increases from 1 January to 1 April 2026, so KeyCare members paid 2025 contributions from January to March. The scheme's weighted average increase for 2026 is 7.2%, and the increase was reported as 7.9% on KeyCare.

For 2027, Discovery had not announced contributions by 29 September 2026. It announced the 2026 increase on 30 September 2025, so news may come soon. The Council for Medical Schemes recommends 3.8% as the starting point for 2027 increases, which is a benchmark and not a cap. Follow our 2027 increases page.

Discovery is an open scheme, so it must accept you if you can pay. It can still impose waiting periods. If you had no scheme cover in the 90 days before applying, the law allows up to a 3-month general waiting period and up to a 12-month condition-specific one, but never for PMB treatment in the shorter-gap cases. Ask Discovery which it will apply. See waiting periods and exclusions.

If you are 35 or older and have no earlier cover, a late joiner penalty applies to your own portion of the contribution. The maximum is 5% for the first band of 1 to 4 years, 25% for 5 to 14 years, 50% for 15 to 24 years and 75% for 25 years or more. See late joiner penalty.

The 2026/27 medical scheme fees tax credit is R376 a month for the main member, R752 for the member and one dependant, and R254 for each additional dependant. It only reduces the income tax you owe and cannot be carried forward. See the medical aid tax credit.

If Discovery does not resolve a complaint, escalate to the Council for Medical Schemes with proof that you tried the scheme first. See how to complain to the CMS.