Government moves with speed to table NHI Bill in Parliament

HEALTH Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says universal health coverage is essential and the National Health Insurance (NHI) will happen.

Participating in a debate on the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, he said the NHI Bill will soon be sent to Parliament and that the days of debating whether it will be implemented or not are over.

“Equally importantly, making progress towards universal health coverage requires transformation of the health system and reconfiguration of institutions for pooling of funds and purchasing of services to achieve social solidarity, efficiency, effectiveness and income and risk cross-subsidisation.

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“In this regard we will be moving speedily to ensure that NHI Bill is tabled in Parliament. The NHI Fund requires strong governance mechanisms and improved accountability for the use of allocated funds. These provisions have been included within the structural design of the NHI Fund and they are reflected within the NHI Bill,” he said.

South Africa spends almost 8.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care, which is comparable to other middle-income countries with 4.1 per cent of the GDP spent on the uninsured population.

Private medical schemes cover approximately 16 per cent of the population, with most of the principal members of these schemes working in the formal sector.

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An estimated 4.4 per cent is spent on 16 per cent of the population covered by medical schemes and who in the main access their health care services in a costly private sector.

In this regard, a smaller percentage of the population pay out of pocket to use the private health sector.

The implementation of the NHI is aimed at moving South Africa closer towards universal health coverage, wherein all citizens irrespective of their socio-economic status will be covered to receive quality health care services based on their health needs.

“It has to be supported by a quality health system. National Health Insurance is therefore a health financing system that is designed to pool funds and to use these pooled funds to actively purchase health services for the population based on the principles of equity and social solidarity. These pooled funds will provide for universal access to quality, affordable health care services for all South Africans irrespective of their socioeconomic status and I repeat, not on their ability to pay,” he said.

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