By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has passed the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) bill, despite critisism that the Bill in its current form is “utterly unimplementable” and will have severe consequences for South Africa.
The Bill, which has been in the parliamentary process since 2019, was pulled from the Order Paper last week when the NCOP chair, Amos Masondo, asked for a delay to consider a letter urging him to revisit the Bill.
The letter – written by Business Unity SA (BUSA) and Business4SA (B4SA) – expressed grave doubts that the NHI in its current form could be implemented or would be good for the country.
The NHI aims to provide universal access to quality health care for all South Africans as enshrined in the Constitution.
Eight of the nine provinces voted to approve the bill. The Western Cape voted against it.
Since the bill was introduced in 2019, no changes have been made in four years, despite critical comments from the medical profession, the private healthcare industry, medical aid schemes, and other stakeholders.
Opposition parties and business groups, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and BUSA, are gearing up to petition President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Should the petition to Ramaphosa fail and the bill be signed into law, opposition will escalate to the courts.
“It is a historic day and a historic achievement. We are putting in place a framework … to transform health services, create equity and make sure the perpetual division of South Africans — at least in health — can come to an end,” said health minister Joe Phaahla during the debate on the bill on Wednesday afternoon.
Critics of the measure say the government hasn’t spelled out how it will raise the required funding, estimated to be as much as 500 billion rand. The bill states that money will come from general tax revenue, payroll taxes, surcharges on personal income tax and the reallocation of funding for tax credits that are currently paid to private insurers, but provides no details.
The proponents of the NHI Bill are motivated by an ambition to create a system wherein healthcare spending benefits all citizens equally. They oppose the current system which tends to predominantly serve those in the private sector.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of Parliament.