By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is intensifying efforts geared at implementing South Africa’s national health insurance (NHI).
Ramaphosa announced this as he responded to the debate on his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
Amid an ongoing power crisis – which necessitated the declaration of a state of disaster – rising levels of crime and poverty, and another swing at corruption and state capture, there was no mention of the state’s other big plan: the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
The omission was highlighted by the Democratic Alliance (DA) this week, who said that it was an indication that the president found its implementation “implausible” and unimportant, so it didn’t warrant a mention.
“Despite the desperate state of the country’s public health sector, it de e government to fast-track the exemption of hospitals from load shedding – an initiative that started off with much enthusiasm and then slowly petered off after a mere 76 of the 213 identified hospitals were exempted last year,” the party said.
Ramaphosa said that the government’s commitment to quality healthcare has not been abandoned and that the NHI is still on track.
“Access to quality health care – and indeed better health itself – are necessary to improve people’s lives and build a successful society and a more productive economy. We are committed to the provision of quality health care for all regardless of their ability to pay,” he said.
“We will, therefore, progressively implement the National Health Insurance as soon as the necessary legislation is approved by Parliament.”
The last update on the NHI Bill came in December 2022, when health minister Joe Phaahla said that his department was preparing for the new laws to be finalised by the National Assembly during the course of 2023.
Phaahla said that the road to implementing the NHI will not be easy, and conceded that the department was getting ready for legal challenges.
“There are already challenges, just in terms of the implementation of our structure of preparing for the NHI in the department. We are already in court with some of the…organisations,” he said.
“Once the Bill is passed in Parliament, there will be a slew of litigations.”
In the meantime, Ramaphosa said that the government is preparing for the NHI’s implementation through the national quality improvement plan and putting in place the necessary staff and funding.