Members of Parliament and other office bearers should be allowed to choose their own medical scheme, and not be made to sign up for the costly Parmed scheme, according to ActionSA MP Kgosi Letlape.
Business Day reports that Letlape is lobbying for an end to compulsory membership of Parmed – which has fewer than 2 500 members – saying members should be able to choose which scheme to belong to, or even opt out entirely.
Parmed is a relatively small, restricted medical scheme offering comprehensive benefits widely regarded as among the most generous in the industry. It is available only to MPs, judges and members of provincial legislatures.
Letlape, who tabled a private members’s Bill last year that seeks to make membership of Parmed voluntary, said it was about having a choice, “so you can make a conscious decision about your own body and decide if you stand in solidarity with your partner and children”.
The MP said his monthly contribution to Parmed accounted for 15% of his take-home pay, and he could not afford cover for his wife.
He added that the compulsory membership perpetuated a double standard in which public representatives received top-tier medical care that was out of reach of most South Africans.
His campaign has highlighted the sentiments of a number of MPs, who despite earning salaries upwards of R1.27m a year, say Parmed is so expensive they cannot afford to include their partners or children.
“I’m paying about R9 000 a month,” said MK MP Thembinkosi Mjadu, who asked why the Eastern Cape provincial legislature allowed its members to choose from several medical schemes, including Parmed, but Parliament did not.
In 2025, a single member of Parmed paid R8 555 a month, according to a presentation in September to the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament.
Parmed’s rates compared favourably with those of the top plans offered by other large schemes, according to analysis presented at the same meeting by Parmed’s administrator, Medscheme.
It said Parmed costs less than comparable plans from Discovery Health Medical Scheme, Fedhealth, Bonitas and Momentum, but was more expensive than the Government Employees Medical Scheme’s top-tier offering.
While members pay the full cost of their premiums, they are entitled to subsidised membership after they retire or leave Parliament. Subsidies range from 31.2% for one year of service to 66.7% for eight years or more of service.
DA MP Karl le Roux said he shared concerns Parmed’s costs, but voluntary membership would could lead to an exodus of members, undermine the scheme’s viability and harm retired MPs.
“If we were to do that, we would basically condemn everybody who’s paid towards the scheme for five, 10, or 20 years, who will lose their benefits,” he pointed out.
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