Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Yarona Care Pay-As-You-Go Healthcare

last updated Dec 18, 2012

Overview

Legal Status: 
Private (for-profit)
Year Launched: 
2010
Stage: 
Pilot/startup stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
Bottom 20%, 20-60% (lower to lower-middle)

Funding

Funders: 
Makhonya Investments

Technology

Technology Used: 
Phones › SMS/MMS (Text Message)
Technology Purpose: 
Streamlining Financial Transactions

Scale

Other Measures of Scale: 
Yarona Care works with 16,000 doctors.
Summary: 

The Yarona Care product provides for an alternative financing methodology for the procurement of healthcare services for those people who cannot afford traditional healthcare insurance. With this product, patients are able to purchase vouchers, load them onto their cell phones and then use them to pay healthcare providers for health care and dental services.

Key program components: 

The vouchers can be stored on a phone for up to a year and are transferable, allowing people to buy the products for their family and employees. To use a voucher, a patient goes to the health service provider, dials a code (1209988#) on their cell phone, and the shows the provider the "basket" (type of service) that they have bought. To actually pay for the service, the patient simply inputs the doctors unique practice number along with the code for the loaded basket. The provider logs onto the "claiming portal" at www.yaronacare.co.za to claim their payment from Yarona. Yarona currently works with 16,000 doctors in South Africa.

There are five General Practitioner products: Impilo Go, Impilo Recharge, Impilo Care (Nurse Based Service), Impilo One, and Impilo Plus, ranging in price from R65.00 to R190.00. (More details about these services can be found under "Additional Information").

Future plans involve the introduction of a product that will be used by patients who want services from traditional healers and the expansion of Yarona's Pay-As-You-Go services to the entire country.

Additional Information:

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