Tag: public healthcare

While the President has signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) into law, the bean counters at National Treasury have yet to start looking for their excel sheets needed to ensure the NHI is fully costed. The first reason is due to the confusion of objective versus political ideology. The NHI has been touted as introducing “universal healthcare coverage” (UHC).

With its two-tiered, highly unequal healthcare system, only 14.86% of South Africa’s population can currently afford private healthcare, and rising costs are making it difficult for many to keep paying their monthly medical aid premiums.

The South African government started discussing the National Health Insurance (NHI) in 2003. After several poor attempts at starting, most people thought that a fully funded first-world healthcare system could never become a reality.

A large proportion of the South African students who have fled Ukraine was studying medicine there. They had all applied to study in South Africa after matriculating but were unsuccessful, due to the limited number of applicants that government training facilities can accept.

Access to quality primary health care will address around 90% of our population’s health needs throughout their lives, largely through early detection and prevention of disease, preventative care and health screenings including vaccinations, cancer screenings, pre-natal and antenatal care, as well as ongoing management of chronic conditions, building a more resilient, healthier, productive population.

It is evident there are diverse views on the National Health Insurance (NHI) bill. The NHI will always remain a hot topic fuelled by speculation and political ambitions, but none of us can deny that, for the good of the country, the healthcare system needs to transform.

The truth is we are not returning to normal as we knew it before COVID-19, and many South African consumers are grappling with a range of emotions as they consider what the future will look like. Early on in the pandemic, there was a belief that not much will happen to drastically affect consumer behaviour.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world implemented national lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. As a result, borders were closed to passengers but specified cargo and retail goods for certain essential products and supplies were permitted.

Reports of alleged corruption plaguing the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), one of the vehicles being touted to administer the National Health Insurance (NHI) should not come as a surprise. We note with concern these reports, and stresses to both government and citizens the crucial lesson that must be learned from this scandal.

South Africa’s access to healthcare and housing is 'increasingly deteriorating', according to the 2020 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The IIAG assesses governance in 54 African countries based on public goods and services that citizens have a right to expect from their governments, and the responsibility of a government to deliver.