Provincial legislature candidate Rudolph van Heerden looking to protect private healthcare
The 19-year-old candidate for the Free Democrats in North West believes the NHI would spell disaster for the sector and called it completely unworkable.
Teenage parliamentary candidate Rudolph Van Heerden (19) for the Free Democrats in the North West. Picture: Supplied
JOHANNESBURG - Nineteen-year-old provincial legislature candidate Rudolph van Heerden is looking at protecting private healthcare in the country.
Van Heerden, a candidate for the Free Democrats in the North West, said the National Health Insurance (NHI) will be disastrous for the sector.
He is one of 15 candidates aged between 18 and 19 running for office, and will be voting for the first time on 29 May 2024.
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Van Heerden said his interest in politics peaked when looking for a doctor to treat his mother’s chronic migraines.
He said there was no doctor who knew how to properly treat his mother except for neurologist Dr Johan Reid.
The teenager said Dr Reid told him about a political party he had founded that lobbies for the protection of privatised healthcare.
“Basically, your health is your most important asset. You can vote for any party you want to, but essentially, you can’t vote for a party if you are not alive. We want proper healthcare and privatised healthcare.”
Van Heerden said the NHI is completely unworkable and will become a looter's paradise.