The Randfontein Herald spoke with physiotherapist Dr Bruce Barker about how National Health Insurance (NHI) will impact medical professionals.
Barker emphasised that the NHI does not stem from national authorities but is an agenda compiled by a nonelected international organisation. He added that the NHI has been applied to various other countries and now South Africa has accepted it as well. He claimed that it is a foreign demand being imposed on a local country.
“The primary driver of the NHI originated because the Universal Health Cover called for development. This plan is driven by people who want to make money. You have to ask the question … do individuals get the opportunity to make up their own minds? Simply put, the NHI seems to be an agenda for drug pharmacies to rake in money,” Barker claimed.
He explained that South Africa already has a fully comprehensive health system that serves, such as state hospitals. According to him, even though some free healthcare systems are not fully operational, it does not mean that the government does not provide free healthcare.
Furthermore, Barker explained that the NHI violates personal sovereignty.
“The government will stand as a single purchaser and seller. Therefore the government will provide free healthcare for all individuals. However, somebody has to pay for the funding. The government does not have the money, so who will be paying? The only possible solution would be the taxpayers. Thus the government will increase taxpayers’ tax so that they can receive funding for the NHI. Currently, South Africa only has about seven million taxpayers, whereas most of the population are non-taxpayers. The NHI is a funding model to tax people to pay for people who cannot pay,” Barker stated.
He agreed that free healthcare is not at all a bad idea as it will have its benefits.
“Everyone deserves free health care but unfortunately, the system on which the NHI is based is purely for financial reasons. Most healthcare professionals work in the private sector for a better salary and to create jobs for themselves. We all know that the government does not create enough jobs,” Barker said.
Barker’s main cause for concern is that private doctors are immigrating or completely leaving the healthcare field.
“We do not necessarily lose taxpayers, but we are losing workers. This increases the pressure on the professionals who choose to stay. Let’s say you require a service that the government does not pay for. How will you afford it?” he claimed.
Barker stated that the NHI has a few negative aspects including the tax increase and inability to choose which doctor you want.
“Not being able to choose which doctor you prefer violates a person’s rights,” he said.
Barker stated that people in the medical aid fields and certain NGOs will complain about the NHI since it will drastically affect them. He stated that as a professional doctor, he would have to register under the government for the NHI, even though he is qualified. He added that he is not sure if the NHI will cover physiotherapy but he is still forced to register.
