The government has committed to achieving universal healthcare through the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. The Bill has been passed by parliament and needs to be approved by the National Council of Provinces before being signed into law by the President.
Profmed continues to engage policymakers regarding the impractical and unconstitutional aspects of the Bill in an effort to protect its members. The more harmful clauses of the Bill prohibit individuals and members of medical schemes to access healthcare services. The healthcare landscape in South Africa will be forever changed if Bill is implemented in its current form and promised improvement in the healthcare system, is undetermined.
Despite numerous engagements with the private sector since it was first proposed in 2009, the Bill has remained virtually unchanged, littered with impractical policy that will only seek to perpetuate healthcare decline. Right now, the Bill has is set to nationalise medical scheme premiums through significant increases in taxes. Over the past few years, the declining budget allocations to public health services has resulted in deteriorating health services and leaves the government with little choice other than to annex the after-tax premiums paid to medical schemes.
Here are a few additional concerns Profmed continues to raise with the policy makers:
1. Limitations on benefits medical schemes can provide
We believe medical schemes alleviate a significant funding burden of the state. We argue that the current failing public health system cannot effectively manage the nine million lives on medical schemes and pooling these lives will only be detrimental to overall quality of care in both the public and private sectors.
2. Nationalising medical scheme premiums by increasing taxes
The claim that purchasing healthcare services at scale will provide significant discounts if medical scheme premiums and public funds are consolidated into a single NHI Fund, is unproven. Any claims that services can be obtained at cheaper rates without knowing what benefits are included in the NHI is not backed up by research. The overburdened South African tax base already pays higher taxes than other countries on the continent and there is little room for any increases.
3. Flight of skills
Professionals leaving the Profmed in the past five years have cited emigration as the main reason- of exiting the Scheme. The difficult economic climate, loadshedding and crime create a perfect storm for the exit of highly skilled professionals. Add a poorly drafted NHI Bill to the mix and South Medical Association indicates that emigration will further increase. The current version of the Bill lacks a resource plan or incentives to retain critical medical professionals in the country, as it will ultimately nationalize their services as the Bill envisages that their income will be funded by a single payer namely NHI.
We need more answers!
At Profmed, we are driven by the belief that healthcare is a fundamental human right enshrined in our constitution. That's why we're actively collaborating with industry bodies like the Health Funders Association and Business Unity South Africa to advocate for a reassessment and retraction of the current Bill. By influencing healthcare policy, we aim to create a realistic and sustainable system that not only ensures access to care but also fuels the growth of South Africa's economy.
