The Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) has recently paid out in a single year what some of SA’s largest private insurers distributed over a quarter of a century, reported The Citizen (7 April 2026). In the last financial cycle, GEMS paid out R67bn in claims. However, it only collected R65bn in contributions; dipping into its savings to almost R10bn.
The surge in claims resulted in a 9.5% increase in member tariffs effective from 1 April
following a steep 13.4% rise in the previous year.
GEMS currently supports over 2.3m beneficiaries