Supplied The Afrocentric Group remains upbeat about the future of medical schemes, despite the record unemployment numbers. The schemes it administers, including Bonitas and GEMS, continued to grow members, thanks partly to the Covid-19 health scare. But realising that the medical scheme population isn't growing, Afrocentric is working on finding a cheaper medical aid option. It's a trying environment for the medical scheme industry. The Covid-19 crisis has helped arrest runaway hospitalisation as doctors put elective surgeries on hold. But Covid-19 intensive care unit, tests and vaccine costs will likely neutralise some of those cost savings. Meanwhile, people are moving to cheaper medical aid plans, and the regulator kept a lid on 2021 contribution increases - some expect it to do the same for 2022.