Spotlight on NHI: In search of common ground
Marcus Low takes an in-depth look at the politics of NHI, explores the concerns people have with the NHI Bill, and asks what it will take for people in South Africa to find more common ground.
Spotlight on NHI: Q&A with head of NHI office
Some key questions about NHI have crystallised in recent months. Spotlight put 12 of these questions to Nicholas Crisp, head of government’s NHI office.
ANALYSIS: Mixed feelings about NHI at public health conference
National Health Insurance (NHI) was one of the hot topics at the 2022 Public Health Association of South Africa Conference recently held in Durban. While several speakers and attendees expressed support for the principles underpinning NHI, many also expressed reservations. Elri Voigt assesses what the conference told us about the views of some of South Africa’s public health experts on NHI.
#InTheSpotlight | How will NHI unfold? Here are three possible scenarios
As health department officials move to set up National Health Insurance’s basic structures, including its board, several experts say the scheme remains a pipe-dream, doomed to the same fate as Gauteng’s aborted e-tolls project. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn outlines three possible scenarios for how NHI might pan out over the coming years.
NHI Act offers no answer to high medicines prices
The National Health Insurance Act does not deal with the systemic issues that cause high prices and inequity in medicine access, and government is not listening, argues Fatima Hassan.
FULL SPEECH | This is what will happen next says Ramaphosa as he signs NHI Bill into law
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the National Health Insurance Bill, which is the ANC-led government’s plan for universal health coverage, just 14 days before the country heads to the polls.
Opinion: There are paths to quality universal healthcare besides NHI
One of the most damaging aspects of our public discourse on National Health Insurance (NHI) is the mistaken notion in some quarters that the only two options are NHI and the status quo, argues Marcus Low.
The National Health Insurance pilot programme
[caption id="attachment_1632" align="alignnone" width="567"] Kotyana Clinic has had solar panels for about three years, but they were never connected. The clinic has no electricity or running water. Photo by Thys…
#Vote4Health | What 10 political parties have to say on Spotlight’s top 7 health questions
Healthcare is an issue that at some point touches everyone in South Africa. It is also an issue that will impact who people vote for on the 29th of May. To help voters understand just what parties are putting on the table when it comes to healthcare, Spotlight pin-pointed seven critical healthcare questions and put them to 10 political parties.
The progressive case for delaying NHI
Healthcare in South Africa is in a tenuous state. The public healthcare system is in crisis – provinces are underfunded, corruption is rife, in many areas posts are effectively frozen.
In-depth on NHI: Common themes emerging from parliamentary hearings (PART 1)
On Wednesday this week, it will be the 25th day of public hearings in Parliament on the National Health Insurance Bill since the hearings started in May last year. In Part 1 of this two-part series on the NHI Bill, Alicestine October looks at how MPs have dealt with oral submissions on the Bill in Parliament so far and assesses what this means for the Bill going forward.
In-depth: What two major bills might mean for health sector procurement in SA
Between South Africa’s Public Procurement Bill and the National Health Insurance Bill, health sector procurement in the country is set for a major shake-up – all as a landmark court decision recently reaffirmed the Constitutional imperative that public procurement must be conducted in a transparent way. Alicestine October takes a deep dive into the accelerating currents of procurement reform.