NHI likely to fail, say experts

The controversy around the mismanagement of food parcels and relief funds during the lockdown are an indication of the possible downfall of the National Health Insurance (NHI), experts said.

In his national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to support the NHI to ensure quality healthcare for all.

“Let us lay the foundation for the National Health Insurance so that all people have access to the quality healthcare they need, regardless of their ability to pay,” Ramaphosa said.

In the address, Ramaphosa banned the sale of alcohol with immediate effect as alcohol-related incidents led to the congestion of hospital trauma units and beds.

But the planned healthcare insurance was likely to fail judging from how state-owned enterprises performed, said political analyst Professor Lesiba Teffo.

“If you want to add onto that another state-owned enterprise, one cannot say the government can do better. Some of the reasons for the collapse of the healthcare system is that it is not well managed,” he said.

Also read: Covid-19 reveals NHI plan’s vulnerabilities and strengths

The collapse was also due to inefficient structures within the system and poor leadership in hospital management, which affected the current handling of the pandemic. Lack of engagement between provincial health departments and private doctors prevented a working partnership between the public and private sector, said the South African Medical Association.

In his address, Ramaphosa confirmed that healthcare facilities in several provinces were under strain, with people infected with Covid-19 reported being turned away from hospitals due to lack of beds or essential supplies.

But this was the same government that intended on taking over the entire medical sector in the country, said the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). Instead of focusing on solutions to guarantee quality healthcare in the public sector, Ramaphosa’s government would risk shifting everything wrong with the system into the NHI, said IRR deputy head of policy research Hermann Pretorius.

“The NHI is not a cure-all. In fact, it is likely to be worse than the disease it is trying to cure: too many South Africans not having access to quality healthcare,” said Pretorius.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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