Whether or not the ANC and DA can find common ground on the future of medical schemes is set to be a major test of South Africa’s Government of National Unity. Ahead of a Cabinet lekgotla where the issue is expected to be on the agenda, momentum has been gathering behind a compromise option. Chris Bateman reports.
To see National Health Insurance primarily as the setting up of a state-run medical aid scheme risks underplaying its massive potential to restructure how public healthcare services are organised and funded, and with that, its potential to boost the delivery of primary healthcare services in South Africa, argues Russell Rensburg.
Around twenty years ago, family physicians seemed set to take up roles as critical cogs across South Africa’s public healthcare system, but in the years since, doctors trained in this speciality have largely been underutilised. That is now finally set to change, according to the Department of Health, Chris Bateman reports.
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.
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.
Professor Lucy Gilson scooped the prestigious international Virchow Prize. She chats to Biénne Huisman about her upbringing, unexpected dive into the world of public health, and shares her thoughts on National Health Insurance. She says it will take more than money to fix our health system.
The idea of mandatory medical scheme coverage for employed people has made a comeback after the case for it was made at a recent conference. Chris Bateman unpacks how a system with mandatory medical scheme membership for the employed might work and asked experts whether it represents a viable alternative to government’s NHI plans.
The Keready project uses mobile clinics to take healthcare services to rural areas. Sue Segar spent time with the project as they took eye, dental, and other healthcare services to communities in the Eastern Cape.
By month end South Africa will have a new Minister of Health. Ufrieda Ho asked some academics and activists what qualities that person should have to tackle the key health issues the country faces.
The chairperson of the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Health Dr Kenneth Jacobs played a pivotal role in deliberations on the National Health Insurance Bill. Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman asked Jacobs about some criticisms of NHI and about his plans for life after Parliament.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently signed the NHI Bill into law. The question is whether this will bring South Africa closer towards Universal Health Coverage. Professor Susan Cleary argues that the NHI is a wide ranging reform with both positive and controversial aspects. The key will be to find a middle ground in order to continue on the journey to UHC.
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.
