National health insurance
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA: The NHI is a fight for social justice
With the public hearings on the National Health Insurance Bill drawing to a close, President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed to South Africans to get behind the...
Over the weekend, organisations, lobby groups and political parties gathered at the Dlamini Multipurpose Hall in Soweto for the final leg of public hearings on the inclusive national health system.
The party said there were still too many unanswered questions around NHI.
But the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over the National Health Insurance is what could make or break the proposal.
Parliament has called on all South Africans interested in universal healthcare to make submissions.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said the NHI will only be fully implemented by 2026, while Treasury has estimated that rolling out NHI will cost an additional R33 billion a year from the beginning of the 2025/26 financial year.
The health minister said the newly TLD medication had fewer side effects and patients were less resistant to it.
It's also brought 87,000 submissions and objections from South Africans who made comments through the party’s own petition.
The group announced on Monday that it will soon travel to each of the nine provinces to lay criminal complaints against the various heads of the health departments.
After listening to a battery of complaints, Parliament’s portfolio committee on Health will now take the debate on National Health Insurance (NHI) to coastal provinces.
Parliament’s health committee has also been urged to address the poor state of hospitals before implementing the plan.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that government spent half of its healthcare budget on subsidising some small private health care groups, through medical tax rebates.
In collaboration with the Special Investigating Unit, the platform was launched on Tuesday, with the aim of detecting and prosecuting fraud and corruption in the health sector.
The union hosted a media briefing in Durban earlier on Tuesday where it announced that it was mobilising its allies in defence of the NHI, which was facing opposition from private sector companies and opposition parties.
The findings of the inquiry into private health recommended a new tariff regime and a regulator to set prices in consultation with practitioners, hospitals and funders.
Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said the inquiry into private healthcare had recommended a standard medical aid package that would make it easier for consumers to compare services.
The party said in its hurried attempt to implement NHI, government had stalled the process of accrediting new and current nurse training institutions.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize will start his tour with a visit to Pholosong Hospital in Brakpan and Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg.
The Elders delegation was led by the former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland and the former President of Chile Ricardo Lagos.