NHI: Private hospitals’ exorbitant bills won’t be allowed, says Motsoaledi

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said South Africa will save money after the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act is implemented.

Answering questions in parliament on Wednesday, the minister made reference to swollen prices of procedures at private hospitals and how this will not be allowed when the NHI is implemented.

The NHI, already signed into law, makes provision for universal healthcare for all South Africans.

Motsoaledi says NHI’s ‘massive costs’ are ‘self-created’

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Dr Karl Willem Du Pré Le Roux targeted the “elephant in the room” on how the Act would be funded.

“Has the minister and the Department of Health performed a costing of implementing the NHI Act? If yes, what are the relevant details and if not, why not?”

Motsoaledi did not answer the question directly, but responded that the “massive costs we are talking about are self-created”.

“We do not know about them. They are self-created and there are claims which we know about.”

He referred to a claim the NHI would cost R1.3 trillion, made by medical aid Momentum. The minister called this estimate “mathematical hooliganism” when answering questions in parliament in September.

Like then, Motsoaledi would not be pushed provide his own guess at how much the implementation of the Act would cost taxpayers.

“When we interrogate how they reached that [estimate], they said if 63 million South Africans, all of them get private healthcare, that is the amount of money that is wanted.”

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Motsoaledi tells MPs to ask how much a circumcision costs

But the flaw in this was assuming all South Africans would go to private institutions where expenses are much higher, the minister said.

“Today I am challenging you. Go to a private hospital and try to ask for a circumcision. They will charge you R18 000, which a GP [general practitioner] can charge for R1 800.

“Why will NHI encourage you to go to a private hospital and pay R18 000 when you can pay R1 800. We won’t allow that [when the NHI is implemented].”

Watch: Motsoaledi discusses NHI at the National Assembly

Motsoaledi asked members of parliament to show him any country that did an accurate cost-analysis before implementing universal healthcare.

“We will cost what we are ready to implement at the time we are ready to do so.”

Motsoaledi referred to reverend Barry Fourie in East London who has paid for his medical aid for 30 years. However, when he needed R1.4 million for immunotherapy to treat his myofibroblastic sarcoma – which saw a tumour develop on the side of his lung – the medical aid refused to pay.

Before he could continue on this topic, he was cut off for his time running out.