Unpacking the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill
8 December 2019
On Thursday 28 November, the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CFCR) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted the final of a series of topical discussions for 2019. The discussion series aims to bring together stakeholders from like-minded institutions, representatives of foreign communities, members of the public at large and any other interested parties, to allow for the sharing of thoughts, opinions and solutions.
The topic was “Unpacking the NHI Bill”. With the deadline for submissions on NHI due on 29 November 2019 the CFCR invited two speakers, Mr Michael Settas, member of the Free Market Foundations’ Health Policy Unit, and Mr Russell Rensburg, Executive Director of the Rural Health Advocacy Project. Speakers shared their thoughts on the proposed NHI and whether this financing system could achieve Universal Health Care (UHC).
The discussion was opened by Ms Christine Botha, Manager of the CFCR. Ms Botha gave an insightful background to the proposed NHI and the need to find urgent solutions to the stark inequality in healthcare services in South Africa. She explained that the NHI Bill proposes the establishment of the NHI Fund, described as the single payer and single purchaser of all healthcare services and that the pilot phase of the NHI expired in 2017. Drafting and tabling of the NHI Bill is part of the next phase of the NHI.