However, the NHI Bill has
faced crit
icism and opposition, particularly from opposition parties. On March
22, 2023, opposition MPs walked out of parliament's health committee in protest
after the chair declined their request to postpone deliberations on the NHI
Bill to allow them more time to consider the complexities of the legal advice
received last week.
The MPs received divergent
views on the bill from deputy chief state law adviser Ayesha Johaar, who said
the bill met constitutional muster, and parliament's legal adviser Sueanne
Isaac, who said the bill was open to constitutional challenge on several fronts.
The NHI Bill is a crucial
piece of legislation for South Africa. The country has a dual healthcare
system, with the public health sector servicing 84% of the population and
private medical schemes only 16%. This leads to a fragmented healthcare system,
where access to quality healthcare is limited for many citizens.
The NHI Bill aims to change
this by providing universal population coverage under NHI, ensuring that all
South Africans have access to comprehensive quality healthcare services. This
means that people will be able to access healthcare services closest to where
they live, at appropriate levels of care, and delivered through certified and
accredited public and private providers.
The NHI derives its mandate
from Section 27 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of
South Africa, which commits the State to take reasonable legislative and other
measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive
realization of the right to healthcare. The NHI is also based on the 1997 White
Paper for the Transformation of the Health System, the Reconstruction and
Development Programme (RDP), and Vision 2030 of the National Development Plan.
Despite the importance of the
NHI Bill, opposition parties have been playing politics with the legislation.
The NHI has been in the making since 2011 with the publication of the NHI Green
Paper, and in terms of the NHI adopted plans, the country is supposed to be on
phase 3 that should be concluded in 2026. It is, therefore, unacceptable that parliamentarians,
especially the opposition, should be grandstanding and wasting time as people's
lives depend on the urgent finalization of the NHI.
The news that opposition
stormed out of the parliament's health committee suggests a lack of urgency and
failure to appreciate the need to transform the healthcare system to be more
equitable and accessible, and improve quality outcomes by more efficiently
balancing healthcare financing. The threats of litigation should not be reason
enough to circumvent the will of the people, who overwhelmingly supported the
NHI during the public consultations.
Opposition parties must stop
playing politics and return to the committee, which sits with taxpayers' money
to ensure the NHI legal processes are concluded and it is assented into law. It
is the duty of every patriot to do so, but a time will come when all
parliamentary reps who are serious about the healthcare of our people,
especially the poor, come together and get the process going with or without
those who want to play politics at the expense of our people's lives.
The NHI Bill has been a long
time coming, and it is imperative that it is passed into law. The opposition's
attempts to delay the bill are detrimental to the country's healthcare system
and its citizens. The NHI has the potential to transform the country's
healthcare system and ensure that all citizens have access to quality
healthcare services.
To conclude, the urgency of
the National Health Insurance in South Africa cannot be overstated. It is
essential to transform the healthcare system to be more equitable and
accessible, and improve quality outcomes for all South Africans. The NHI Bill
is a crucial step in this direction, and it is the duty of all parliamentarians
to ensure its swift implementation.
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