Medical aid scheme Discovery Health will foot the bill for some of fraud convict Schabir Shaik's hospital stay but not all of it, the Pretoria News website reported on Monday.

Discovery chief executive, Neville Koopowitz, said the company had to get as comprehensive a report as possible due to the nature of the case and Shaik's lengthy stay at Durban's St Augustine's private hospital.

"It's an unprecedented case in terms of the length of the stay, but one cannot conclude from that, that it was not clinically necessary. Having said that we have not covered the full amount, but only what was clinically appropriate," he said.

It had used independent panels and its own experts, including academics, practising medical specialists and bio-ethics specialists to explore the ethical obligations of the company and the rules of its medical schemes, the report said.

Shaik's lengthy stay at the hospital ended last week when he was transferred back to the Durban Westville prison to continue his 15-year fraud sentence.

He reportedly suffered from high blood pressure, depression and chest pains.

Discovery's decision was communicated to the Shaik family, the report said.

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Mail & Guardian.