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AfriForum warns that the current spending undertaken by the Department of Health to prepare for the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) is ill-considered, as the constitutionality of NHI is still contested. This follows after the Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, indicated, in response to a parliamentary question, that his department aims to publish provisional regulations for the implementation of NHI by the end of November and is also busy establishing structures that will help manage the implementation of the NHI system.

The National Health Insurance Act was signed into law by the president on 15 May this year and has sparked several court applications against its constitutionality. AfriForum is also ready to institute action proceedings against NHI and take other targeted legal action where necessary. The civil rights organisation warns that it’s more appropriate for officials to wait for the rulings in the relevant court cases, before any talk of implementation.

According to Louis Boshoff, Health Officer for AfriForum, there’s a big possibility that NHI – or large parts of it – will be declared unconstitutional. Then all preparation for it will come to a halt. “If this was a market-driven process, no investor would be willing to invest money into a system whose constitutionality is uncertain, but now taxpayers can only observe how their money is being spent on setting up a system that may very well be nullified,” explains Boshoff.

From the minister’s parliamentary answer, it appears that numerous actions are being undertaken which should rather be on hold for the time being. This includes, among other things, the drafting of regulations, the selection of articles for promulgation, the appointment of a council for the management of NHI and the appointment of a Ministerial Advisory Committee on Health Care Benefits. According to AfriForum, there’s a good chance that all these processes, which cost the taxpayer dearly, will result in nothing.

“Apart from the unnecessary expenses that’s being incurred, there’s also the risk that the premature implementation of NHI may hinder fair judgement on its constitutionality,” adds Boshoff.

Issued by AfriForum