Leaders in the healthcare sector are distinguished not only by their ability to guide the industry but also by their visionary approach to revolutionize the field. These leaders possess a blend of expertise, skills, and varied experiences that enable them not only to overcome obstacles but also to lead beneficial transformations. Leo Dlamini stands out as a prominent figure in the South African healthcare space, embodying these qualities of leadership and innovation.
With a robust academic background including a BCom degree in Accounting and Finance, a Masters degree in Business Leadership, and a Global Executive Programme qualification, Leo brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. Leo is the esteemed CEO and Principal Officer of Bestmed Medical Scheme. His extensive experience spans over two decades, encompassing senior management and executive positions, where he has excelled in strategy development, implementation, risk management, and governance.
Leo’s journey with Bestmed began in 2019, amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a time of unprecedented challenges for the healthcare industry. Transitioning from the energy sector to private healthcare, Leo embraced the opportunity to apply fresh perspectives to business growth strategies and engage with a diverse range of stakeholders. His tenure at Bestmed has been marked by a commitment to innovation and collaboration, driven by the dynamic nature of the healthcare sector.
Having served on the Bestmed Board of Trustees since 2015 and with prior experience on various boards, Leo is well-versed in navigating regulatory landscapes and promoting meaningful engagements with government stakeholders and consumers alike. His leadership at Bestmed reflects a strong dedication to guiding the organization towards sustainable growth and addressing the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.
Below are highlights of the interview that showcase Leo Dlamini’s transformative leadership journey and his commitment to driving positive change in the healthcare landscape through strategic vision and collaborative solutions.
As the CEO and Principal Officer of Bestmed, what aspects of leadership do you believe are crucial in navigating the complexities of the healthcare landscape?
The healthcare landscape is competitive, ever-changing and highly regulated. Therefore, a leader in the industry can never be complacent.
In an industry known for shifting regulations, rapidly evolving technological and clinical advancements, rising costs and growing ethical concerns, leaders in this space must constantly adapt and innovate solutions. Complacency inevitably erodes the brand and culture.
This innovative leadership must focus on how to succeed in unpredictable circumstances and how to foster an environment conducive to innovation in the dynamic healthcare sector. Innovative thinking lies at the heart of innovative leadership.
Innovative thinking doesn’t rely on past experiences, nor does it try to establish right from wrong. Instead, it envisions ambitious goals and strategies how to achieve them through multiple possibilities.
By embracing the ‘what if?’, one can stretch beyond familiar patterns and solutions, and stretch conventional boundaries to deal with the complexities in the South African healthcare landscape.
How do you leverage your expertise to ensure Bestmed continues to deliver high-quality healthcare services to its members?
I believe that my background and experience in business strategies and various stakeholder relationships enables me to relate to the national agenda and upcoming changes in the medical insurance space. My aim is to maintain Bestmed’s stature in business innovation, beneficiary growth and brand strength. Keeping our brand promise of being ‘Personally Yours’ to our members is not simply a tick box exercise – it’s at the core of every interaction, process and business decision. If we’re no longer serving our members in the best way possible, we no longer have a legitimate business case.
Bestmed has been providing quality healthcare for over half a century. How has the company’s mission evolved over the years, and what is its current focus?
It certainly is a privilege to celebrate our 60th year of providing trusted medical aid to members this year.
Our mission, from more than six decades ago, remains that we continue to provide quality healthcare for all our members (and potential members) that is affordable and caters for every stage of one’s life; underpinned by excellent service.
Together with my Executive team and the rest of the Bestmed employees, my main priority is to grow the Bestmed footprint throughout South Africa by providing affordable, quality healthcare and an extensive network of healthcare service providers, and to enhance our beneficiaries’ lives through our wellness and Managed care initiatives and programmes.
It is critical to balance the rising costs of healthcare services and medicine, while maintaining affordability for members. Our current focus is tracking hospital admissions, which continues to be the biggest cost driver in healthcare in 2024. While admissions are lower than in 2019 / 2020, the average cost of admission has risen substantially. This is why it is essential for Bestmed to negotiate and secure the best possible rates with service providers for its members.
We are also focusing more on our wellness programme, health screenings and preventative measures to reduce long-term costs and improve patient outcomes. This includes recognising the importance of mental health, and providing broader coverage and services which include access to counselling, psychiatric treatments and support programmes.
Can you elaborate on Bestmed’s vision for the future of healthcare in South Africa and how it aligns with the broader industry trends?
Bestmed’s long-term goal is to grow from the fourth to the third largest open medical scheme in South Africa. In an already saturated healthcare market, achieving sustainable growth is challenging. Our key to growth and retention of beneficiaries is to differentiate from other schemes in our offering of quality and affordable benefits, as well as personal service.
In the broader industry, our success lies in our ability to provide affordable and value-driven healthcare solutions to all our members to meet the full spectrum of their healthcare needs. To do this, we adopt innovative managed care services, and conduct ongoing product innovation, service excellence, claims risk and fraud management.
Bestmed is also the largest self-administered open medical scheme in South Africa. The Scheme manages its costs prudently to ensure that the maximum percentage of beneficiary contributions is utilised for paying healthcare claims and not administrative costs.
Are there specific initiatives or innovations that Bestmed is currently undertaking to enhance its service offerings?
Bestmed actively continues to reposition the Scheme as a new-generation healthcare business through innovation to achieve high growth and exceptional service, while maintaining sustainable financial performance.
Our initiative includes, but is not limited to, identifying any gaps in our product range, and offering and creating appropriate solutions to bridge these gaps, and in doing so we hope to increase our market share. One such initiative is the possibility of introducing a Low-Cost Benefit option to our product range to provide access to affordable private healthcare in the low-income households.
We also intend to expand and strengthen our service provider network to offer the best care to our members at the best price, delivering on healthcare outcomes.
In line with the Scheme’s strategic objectives and need for agility, our administration system hardware was recently successfully refreshed. We have seen an overall improvement in business processing to the end user and in member experience. We continue our hybrid approach, enabling the workforce to work from home and serve members without interruption, while maintaining the high service levels to which our stakeholders are accustomed.
Caring for our employees also remains critical. Bestmed supports and builds resilience in the ranks through health and wellbeing initiatives to continue to provide exceptional member experience.
In what ways does Bestmed contribute to the well-being of its members beyond traditional healthcare coverage?
Apart from Bestmed’s comprehensive product offering, which caters to all life stages, the Scheme also offers eight managed healthcare programmes as part of its primary care benefits covered from Scheme risk. These programmes have been specifically developed to care for beneficiaries by providing additional benefits to treat and prevent specific conditions appropriately in a cost-effective manner. The programmes include an Oncology programme, HIV/AIDS programme, Dialysis care programme, and Maternity care programme.
As mentioned before, the Scheme also offers competitive preventative care benefits, as well as the Tempo wellness programme, across all options at no additional cost to beneficiaries.
What are the key challenges you foresee in the healthcare sector, and how is Bestmed positioned to address them?
The medical scheme industry’s growth has been stagnant for an extended period of time and prevailing economic circumstances in South Africa do not bode well for growth over the short- to medium-term. However, Bestmed has experienced steady growth over the past five years due to our offering of quality, value-for-money benefit options and the ‘Personally Yours’ customer service on which we pride ourselves.
Another challenge is the emergence of several medical insurance products entering the market over the last few years. These products differ from medical aid products in South Africa, are subject to different legislation and are offered at a lower price point, which changes the competitive landscape of the industry. Bestmed seeks to educate the public on the differences between medical insurance and medical aid, so that consumers are able to make an informed decision, regarding their healthcare needs.
The industry is also highly regulated. Medical schemes, therefore, need to review their procedures and processes continuously to ensure adherence to the Council for Medical Schemes’ regulations, as well as the Medical Schemes Amendment Act. Schemes also need to comply with relevant legislation and policies, including those related to data protection and member privacy in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
Increasing health costs remain a challenge for the healthcare industry. The cost of providing healthcare cover is increasing faster than the economic growth rate and the consumer price index (CPI), which renders medical scheme membership unaffordable for the majority of South Africans. Balancing the rising costs of healthcare and affordability for members is delicate and a critical aspect of running a sustainable medical scheme. Driving the increase in costs of healthcare is also the utilisation rate (claims ratio) by the members.
The biggest cost driver in healthcare in 2024 continues to be hospitals, followed by specialists. Although the number of hospital admissions are currently lower than they were in 2019/2020, the average cost of admission has risen substantially. This is why it is very important to establish collaborative ecosystems that are inclusive and beneficial to all stakeholders.
Medical schemes, as well as the public, are also acutely aware of the developments related to the Government’s planned implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI). The funding for the NHI and future of medical schemes are still unclear. Regardless, Bestmed continues to participate in working groups via its industry body, the Board of Healthcare Funders, to monitor and contribute to the developments in the private healthcare industry in response to the implementation of NHI. We believe that medical schemes have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. We have reassured our beneficiaries that Bestmed will do everything in its power to protect the rights of the Scheme and its beneficiaries to ensure that access to quality healthcare is not compromised.
Are there specific principles or lessons learned in your career that you would like to pass on to the next generation of healthcare leaders?
There is no magic formula to success. Plan and focus, and take small steps to reach milestones. Embrace complex problems and challenges – it is the best way to learn and advance. When an opportunity presents itself, make yourself available because success in this critical moment will give you the ambition to do better and do more. Network and build relationships with key stakeholders.
How does it feel to be recognized as a trailblazer in South Africa’s healthcare industry?
It feels great (euphoric), yet humbling. One can only give one’s best and, to do that, one always has to work at being one’s own best.
Read More: Click Here
