The Department of Health will implement the National Health Insurance (NHI). The department said the NHI is a financing system that will make sure that all citizens of South Africa are provided with essential health care, regardless of their employment status and ability to make a direct monetary contribution to the NHI fund.
But concerns have come out from various stakeholders as to how the government will fund the NH1, reported “IOL”.
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) asked, “What will the NHI cost, how will it be financed, how can the supply of health services be ramped-up to match increased demand, how will the enormous administrative burden be met, and how can the corruption the new system will foster be curbed?”
As well as that a report made public by the Davis Tax Committee written earlier last year warned that the NHI is “unlikely to be sustainable unless there is sustained economic growth”.
Dr Anthea Jeffery, head of policy research and author of the IRR report, said, “The NHI will require a level of spending far in excess of the resources ‘available’ to the government. The NHI proposal is thus inconsistent with Section 27 of the constitution.”
“Government regulation has already pushed up the cost of medical schemes to the point where many people battle to afford them. The state has also refused to allow a low-cost option that would extend cover to at least 15 million more South Africans.”
