By OBAKENG MAJE
The Republic of South Africa (RSA) President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday, publicly sign into law the controversial National Health Insurance Bill (NHI), which directs the transformation of South Africa’s health care system to achieve universal coverage for health services.
The national Department of Health said, through this, the system will overcome critical socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the past. The signing ceremony will take place at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, at 2pm.
According to the department’s website, https://www.health.gov.za/nhi/, since the dawn of democracy, the health sector has undergone many reforms to try and create a more equitable, accessible and affordable healthcare system that can service all South Africans. It says, however, these past reforms have been too little and too slow.
“Everyone deserves equal access to quality and affordable healthcare. Fundamental changes need to occur to create a strengthened healthcare system. The problem is that South Africa’s health system is very complicated and expensive.
“The health outcomes do not match the resources invested in the system. Both the public and private sector have challenges that make the healthcare delivery system unsustainable to service all South Africans,”
The department says it plans to strengthen the health system. It says South Africa is a member of the United Nations community and has committed to implement universal health coverage for all.
“The desired outcome is that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. The NHI is South Africa’s strategy to achieve universal health coverage.
“The NHI is a fund from which the government will buy healthcare services for South Africans from healthcare providers both in the public and private sector. The NHI will make healthcare more affordable, by reducing the cost of healthcare for all,” the website says.
The department says NHI acts like a medical aid for everyone, and all of them will contribute to this fund through taxes and special contributions in line with what we can afford. It says the insurance will ensure that everyone is entitled to free healthcare when they need it.
“There will be no fees charged at the facility because the fund will cover the costs of care. The NHI is a journey to transform South Africa’s health sector. It will take many years to be fully realised and requires input from all sectors to ensure no one is left behind.
“For the NHI Fund to be effective, the entire health system will undergo reform for many years to come. These reforms include partnerships between the private and public sectors, making both sectors more effective and more efficient, and implementing robust governance structures,” says the website.
The department says the passing of the NHI Bill in June 2023 by the National Assembly was a key milestone that paves the way for ensuring better collaboration between our private and public health systems, guaranteeing universal and comprehensive quality health coverage for all.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Gerrit Pretorius said: “The DA rejects the destructive National Health Insurance Bill. The residents express pressing concerns on the financial and social implications of the Bill’s passage into law.
“Proposed by the ANC at the national level, the NHI Bill would allow the state to take control over virtually all healthcare in South Africa. Under NHI, private healthcare would be all, but outlawed, and medical procedures would be funded by a massive, central, tax-funded pool of money.”
Pretorius further said the National Treasury has thus far not disclosed how this system of state-funded healthcare will be funded with any degree of viability. He added that, while the goal of universal health coverage is a noble one, this particular Bill will have dire economic consequences for South Africa.
“With a mounting debt crisis, a stagnant economy and an energy crisis that makes real the threat of total economic collapse. South Africa already cannot meet its financial obligations.
“The passage of NHI would not only catastrophically exacerbate this, but would also bring millions of patients into an already-overstretched public healthcare system, while simultaneously demanding hundreds of billions of rand more from an overstretched and shrinking tax base,” said Pretorius.
He said these concerns were echoed by hundreds of residents, who made written and oral submissions on the Bill. Pretorius said in addition to economic reasons, many residents felt that NHI would worsen the flight of medical professionals from South Africa to wealthier countries.
TaungDailyNews 