NHI Bill a start or a stall?

Is the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings yesterday, “a milestone in South Africa’s quest for a more just society”, “an error that will lead to less health care”, or just “cheap electioneering”?

Mixed responses followed Ramaphosa signing in the new Bill as law. He insisted it would make health care more affordable.

ALSO READ: Health minister says NHI will be implemented over next four years

Ramaphosa said the real challenge in implementing the NHI wasn’t a lack of funding, but the misallocation of resources that currently favours the private health sector at the expense of public health needs.

‘Planning can overcome financial hurdles’

“The financial hurdles facing the NHI can be navigated with careful planning, strategic resource allocation and a steadfast commitment to achieving equity,” he said.

“It proposes a comprehensive strategy of various financial resources, including additional funding and reallocating funds already in the health system.

“Through more effective collaboration between the public and private sectors, we can ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Government planned to improve the effectiveness of health care provision by requiring all health facilities to achieve minimum quality health standards and be accredited through the NHI.

ALSO READ: IT’S OFFICIAL! – President Ramaphosa signs NHI Bill and National Health Insurance is now the law

“Following the signing of this Bill, we will be establishing the systems and putting in place the necessary governance structures to implement the NHI based on the primary health care approach,” he said.

Ramaphosa said there was no rush: the implementation of the NHI would be done in a phased approach, with key milestones in each phase.

Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla said the country was finally at the starting line. “We will find obstacles and difficulties that will need to be confronted,” he said.

Watch: The NHI Act is signed, not what?

“This journey will take many years of concentrated and consistent work. It is a process and not an event and must be broken up into manageable phases and parts, each of shorter duration,” he said.

Phaahla said the signing of the Bill was not about electioneering, but was rather a promise.

While the United Nations in South Africa welcomed the signing of the Bill and said it considered it a significant milestone in the journey towards universal health care, others begged to differ.

ALSO READ: ‘Getting a gold tooth cap’: South Africans have ‘big plans’ after NHI signing [VIDEOS]

AfriForum campaign officer Louis Boshoff said legal letters were being handed over to the Presidency.

AfriForum intends to launch a class action against the president, minister and government to “hold them responsible for the damage we are convinced the NHI will cause”.

“All research indicates that NHI is going to hurt the economy and lead to less health care rather than more,” he said.

Democratic Alliance chief whip Siviwe Gwarube called the signing of the Bill two weeks before the elections a desperate electioneering tool that was not the silver bullet that the health care system needs