Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
15 May 2024 | 11:00 CAT
3 min read

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to sign the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law on Wednesday during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. This decision has sparked widespread outrage, prompting several organisations, including the IRR and Solidarity, to announce plans for litigation. Business Unity SA has also stated that it is considering legal action.

Additionally, the South African Health Professionals Collaboration, representing 25,000 healthcare professionals, has expressed profound disappointment and is preparing its own legal challenge.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Caroline Corbett from the South African Health Professionals Collaboration (SAHPC) expressed significant concern for all South African citizens regarding the implications of the NHI Bill on their right to access healthcare.

“Our South Africans generally are going to be grossly disadvantaged by the signing of this Bill. We have tried to repeatedly engage with the Department of Health as far back as 2011 when the green paper for this Bill was proposed and released into the public space because of its gross inability of the bill to explain how it’s actually going to provide quality access to universal healthcare in South Africa and address the very grave needed health reform,” she said.

During his State of the Nation Address in February, Ramaphosa committed to signing the bill this year. He stated: “While our health system has had a great impact on people’s lives, we are working to improve both the quality of healthcare and equality of access. The NHI Bill has been passed by both Houses and will provide free healthcare at the point of care for all South Africans, whether in public or private health facilities.”

Corbett emphasised that the SAHPC believes that due process was not followed, citing significant constitutional and procedural infringements, arguing that these issues are extensive and far-reaching.

“Although taking legal action will be a mammoth event, the unattended consequences include the loss of specialists, GPs and allied health workers to the system already. Just the threat of the system being implemented has resulted in people leaving medicine, leaving the country and trainees not wanting to consider specialisation, which is catastrophic in a country where we have a scare skills resource problem already,” she said.

She asserted that the country’s leadership is not acting in the best interest of the population, highlighting what she described as a “critical leadership failure”.

“The disappointment is far beyond our expertise not being considered; it is a cry for help from South Africans to the President to please engage with us because there are other solutions to health reform,” she added.

She criticised the use of propaganda in this space as part of an election campaign, pointing out that it has led to provincial premiers promising that people can walk into private healthcare facilities and access care.

“If you tell that to someone who can’t access basic chronic medication at a rural clinic, you are providing hope, and the legalese behind it becomes null and void. I believe we have been lied to as far as the information that has been shared; that is very disingenuous and speaks to a lack of transparency in the way the government has been communicating with its people,” she said.

Regarding access, she expressed the belief that the implementation of the NHI Bill will lead to a reduction in access to healthcare and a decrease in the quality of care provided.

“It is false advertising and a voting mandate without proper consultation with healthcare workers and no response from the President on the SHPC submission,” she added.

Corbett urges people to pause, listen, and explore alternative solutions instead of rushing into public-private partnerships. What is being promised is not necessarily what will be delivered.

The SAHPC has made clear its intention to pursue legal action and has been consulting with attorneys in response to the signing of the bill.

Ramaphosa is expected to sign the NHI Bill into law at 2 pm on Wednesday, 15 May 2024.

LISTEN to the full interview with Muallimah Annisa Essack and SAHPC’s Caroline Corbett, here.