Health-e Op-Ed: NHI Bill must prioritise people, not private interest

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Health-e Op-Ed: NHI Bill must prioritise people, not private interest By Health-e News

There are no arguments that South Africa’s health system needs urgent reforms to achieve universal healthcare. However, the bigger and more critical question is how the National Health Insurance Bill will deliver universal and quality health services for the 80% of people in South Africa who rely on government clinics and hospitals in the current ailing health system.

As it makes its way through Parliament, fears are mounting that the NHI Bill — that aims to address inefficiency and inequity in healthcare — will not live up to its ambitious expectation and could be captured by private medical services. During the pilot phase, people were promised that clinic queues would be shorter because healthcare services would come to their doorsteps. In cases where a patient’s condition was critical, the NHI promised a referral system from the local clinic to a contracted doctor who would then refer them to a district hospital to be seen by a specialist.In 2016, the Office of Health Standards inspected more than 800 health facilities and the results were alarming.

 

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