Durban — The approval of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill has met with criticism, with organisations threatening legal action.
The National Assembly approved the NHI Bill, which aims to provide universal public health care.
The main concerns are whether the government would be able to provide quality health care to all South Africans through the NHI when the state of the health-care system is crying for help.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum strongly condemned Parliament’s decision to accept the new NHI Bill.
AfriForum spokesperson Jacques Broodryk said they had already assembled a team of the country’s top legal experts, economists, and medical experts to oppose the legislation at all possible levels.
“The current public health system is succumbing to its ANC-inflicted wounds, yet the government now wants to force all citizens to become even more dependent on the state with its culture of mismanagement.
“The result will be that medical practitioners will leave the country, patients will die, and cadres will be further enriched through corrupt medical contracts,” said Broodryk.
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said the number of people in formal jobs was not rising in line with investment in private health care and the cost of administering medical aids. He said the cost of subscriptions was rising above inflation every year, while the benefits were reduced and getting exhausted before the end of every calendar year.
Associate professor in the Discipline of Public Health Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Ozayr Mahomed, said it was very difficult to have a concrete vision of the NHI.
“At this moment, it seems it is a dream that will require a miracle to achieve. We have a bill that is ambiguously written and lacks details still to be worked out.
“Therefore it may be very difficult to see its implementation in the near future,” said Mahomed.
He said medical schemes would be consolidated and reduced with specifically defined packages that would offer more than the NHI did.
“General practitioners may face reduced income even with contracting into the NHI scheme, allied health practitioners will face the same challenges and pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers may end as front shops,” said Mahomed.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Discovery Health CEO Ryan Noach said there was no need to panic over the NHI Bill, as there was still a long way to go before it affected private medical schemes.
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