Polmed medical aid in 2026: Marine and Aquarium options for SAPS members

Only employees of the SAPS appointed under the South African Police Service Act, and their dependants, are eligible. Polmed is a closed (restricted) scheme, registered under the Medical Schemes Act with registration number 374, so it may turn away anyone outside that group. Your SAPS HR office can confirm eligibility.

Open schemes must accept any applicant who can pay. If you are not in the SAPS, look at Discovery KeyCare, Bonitas or Bestmed. Other restricted schemes such as GEMS (public service) and Bankmed (banking) serve different employer groups.

• Polmed is a closed medical scheme (CMS registration number 374) open only to SAPS employees and their dependants. (polmed.co.za)
• Polmed has two benefit options in 2026, Marine and Aquarium. (polmed.co.za)
• Contribution rates run on a 1 April to 31 March cycle: the current table is 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. (polmed.co.za)
• Contributions are banded by income (13 bands) and shown as a member portion and a full unsubsidised contribution, because SAPS employees receive an employer subsidy. (polmed.co.za)
• Only SAPS employees appointed under the SAPS Act 68 of 1995 and their dependants may join. (polmed.co.za)
• On Aquarium, PMB hospital cover is subject to the Polmed network, non-PMB hospital cover is limited to R226 336, and a R5 000 co-payment applies where pre-authorisation was not obtained. (polmed.co.za)
• Solvency ratio 86.56% at the end of 2024, well above the 25% statutory minimum. (polmed.co.za)
• Membership is growing: principal members rose from 172,598 in 2022 to 187,312 in 2024. (polmed.co.za)
• Members can query the scheme through the free Polmed Chat app or the Polmed Chat icon in the Member Zone; the Administrator has five working days to respond to a query. (polmed.co.za)

South African Police Service Medical Scheme (Polmed) publishes 2 benefit options for 2026. Prices are the monthly contribution for a main member as published by Polmed, and income-banded plans show the band. Adult and child dependants pay extra. Checked on 29 September 2026.

Sources: polmed.co.za/...6%20Member%20Guide%20D16.pdf.

Polmed has no savings option and no third tier. Two options cover the whole membership.

The right choice depends on how much you use healthcare. A family with a chronic condition, planned surgery or young children may hit the Aquarium hospital limit or find the network rule restrictive. A young healthy family may not need Marine's extras. Read hospital plan versus comprehensive and network versus traditional plans if you are weighing the two.

Checked on 29 September 2026 against Polmed'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: polmed.co.za, polmed.co.za/...6%20Member%20Guide%20D16.pdf. All schemes' numbers are on our medical aid contact numbers page.

Contributions are banded by income, in 13 bands, and each band shows a member portion and a full unsubsidised contribution. The member portion is what you pay after the SAPS employer subsidy, and it is much lower than the full amount. The plans and prices table on this page shows both figures for the lowest and highest income bands.

Polmed did not publish an average increase percentage on the pages we checked. By our own calculation from the scheme's 2025 and 2026 tables, the lowest-band unsubsidised contribution rose about 4.4% on Marine and about 4.5% on Aquarium. That is our arithmetic and not a scheme-announced figure, so do not quote it as Polmed's.

The subsidy depends on your employment terms, so ask your HR office how a change of option or scheme would affect it.

On Aquarium, Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB) hospital cover is subject to the Polmed network, non-PMB hospital cover is limited to R226 336 a year, and a 30% co-payment applies for admission at a non-network hospital. A R5 000 co-payment applies where pre-authorisation was not obtained, so always get authorisation for planned admissions, MRI and CT scans. See pre-authorisation.

Marine uses an open network, so you are not tied to a hospital list. Polmed also uses GP nomination. We have not verified the detail, so read the current member guide before you choose a GP.

In an emergency go to the nearest facility. Polmed lists ER24 as its emergency medical services provider, and the numbers are in the contact table on this page and on the contact numbers hub. Under the regulations a scheme must pay PMB emergency costs even at a non-network hospital. See designated service providers.

Every Polmed option must pay Prescribed Minimum Benefits in full, without a co-payment, subject to designated provider and formulary rules. The Council for Medical Schemes says PMBs cover 271 conditions plus a chronic list of 26 conditions, though an August 2026 CMS presentation says 27, so ask Polmed for the current list.

Beyond the PMBs, Marine adds day-to-day benefits and Aquarium provides reasonable out-of-hospital care. We have not verified the chronic medicine formulary or the maternity limits for either option, so use the current member guide, and register early if you are expecting. Our chronic disease benefits, prescribed minimum benefits and day-to-day benefits guides explain the terms.

Polmed's 2026 contributions run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, not January to December, and the scheme's 2026 member guide is the source for the options and the figures. The scheme has two options, Marine and Aquarium.

Membership is growing: principal members rose from 172 598 in 2022 to 187 312 in 2024. The 2024 integrated report gives a solvency ratio of 86.56%, well above the 25% statutory minimum.

Nothing about 2027 contributions had appeared by 29 September 2026, and Polmed's June to August 2026 newsletters had no contribution news. Because Polmed changes contributions on 1 April, a 2027 change would apply from 1 April 2027. The CMS has recommended 3.8% as the starting point for 2027 increases across the industry. Follow our 2027 increases page.

For SAPS members the comparison is mostly Polmed against an open scheme. Aquarium is a network option like Discovery KeyCare and Bestmed's Rhythm options, but what you pay is shaped by the SAPS subsidy. Marine's open network is the one to compare with open-scheme plans that do not restrict your hospital, such as those from Bonitas and Bestmed.

The fair test is total cost to you after subsidy, plus the hospital rules that matter for your family. Ask HR whether the subsidy follows you if you leave Polmed, and see how much medical aid costs for typical price points.

Apply through Polmed, your SAPS HR office or a registered broker. The law allows a general waiting period of up to 3 months and a condition-specific one of up to 12 months if you had no scheme cover in the 90 days before applying, but not for PMB treatment in the shorter-gap cases. A late joiner penalty can apply from age 35 with no earlier cover. Ask Polmed what it will apply. See waiting periods and exclusions.

For 2026/27 the 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. See the medical aid tax credit.

Members can query the scheme through the free Polmed Chat app, or the Polmed Chat icon in the Member Zone on the website. The administrator has five working days to respond. If Polmed does not resolve it, escalate to the Council for Medical Schemes with proof that you tried the scheme first. See our CMS complaints guide. The official site is polmed.co.za.