Johannesburg - Trade union Solidarity says it is getting ready to go to court against the new National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, that was passed by the National Assembly this week.
According to a parliamentary statement, the NHI Bill seeks to provide for universal access to health-care services in the country in accordance with the National Health Insurance White Paper and the Constitution of South Africa.
“The bill envisages the establishment of a National Health Insurance Fund and sets out its powers, functions, and governance structures. The Fund will purchase health-care services for all users who are registered with it,” read the statement.
Solidarity chief executive Dr Dirk Hermann said from the outset, they realised the NHI would probably be tested in court.
“The government’s plans to capture health care are unaffordable and unimplementable. It will lead to a mass exodus of health practitioners from the country,” said Hermann.
The union said they have participated in all the public participation processes and have already achieved several victories against the NHI in court. They added that their Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) has also undertaken comprehensive research in the medical sector, which shows that the adoption and implementation of the NHI will lead to a huge exodus of medical professionals from the country.
Hermann added the government had already failed with the public health-care system, and it now wanted to fail on an even bigger scale.
“It has a history of failure when it comes to state enterprises, and there is no reason to believe the proposed NHI would not be to the serious detriment of South Africans. We cannot trust the government, and we cannot deliver our medical professionals to them and trust our health to their hands. This is going to be a major court battle,” Hermann said.
Yesterday, Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla, during the post-NHI debate in the National Assembly, Cape Town, said the government considered the passing of the NHI Bill by the National Assembly as a key milestone to ensure all the people of South Africa have access to the same clinic or hospital (either public or private), closer to where they live or work, without paying; the government will pay.
“We are convinced that the NHI is the vehicle suitable to drive our health reform programme and is capable of delivering the desired result to ensure those who are deprived of improved-quality health care have access too. The NHI is a fund from which the government will buy health-care services for South Africans from health-care providers both in the public and private sectors,” said the minister.
Phaahla said it was a fund to pay for health care and everyone would contribute to this fund through taxes and special contributions in line with what they could afford.
“It will ensure that everyone is entitled to free health care when they need it, and there will be no fees charged at the facility because the fund will cover the costs of care,” he said.
The Star