The Hospital Association of South Africa notes with disappointment and concern the decision by the National Council of Provinces to pass the National Health Insurance Bill without engaging with the many constructive suggestions and proposals that we, business representative organisations, and many other healthcare stakeholders have tabled.
We firmly believe the legislature has missed an opportunity to address several fundamental and critical issues that threaten the healthcare system’s efficacy and that, therefore, urgently require resolution.
While we support the Bill’s stated objective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), we have consistently noted the need for more clarity regarding the future role of medical schemes and the need to incorporate a multi-payer approach instead of the proposed single-payer regime.
In addition, there needs to be far more detail regarding funding our country’s most consequential initiative ever. Moreover, solutions to the deepening nurse and doctor shortage and the desperate need for adequate public health facilities to strengthen healthcare delivery remain elusive.
We recognise the role of private healthcare in system strengthening and the requirement for collaboration, so we continue to declare ourselves willing to work to build a healthcare system that serves all South Africans far into the future.
We urge the Presidency to recognise the compelling inputs into the National Health Insurance Bill made by us and many others in healthcare and to address the issues raised by the private sector. Future generations depend on us to make sensible decisions for a sustainable healthcare future, today.
