Africa-Press – South-Africa. Opposition parties have slammed the National Assembly’s passing of the contentious National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which paves the way for universal healthcare in South Africa.
The DA, EFF, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) are among the parties that have expressed outrage over the passing of this controversial Bill.
The ANC used its majority in the National Assembly to vote in favour of the NHI Bill on Tuesday, with 205 MPs voting in favour and 125 against.
Through a media statement, the EFF called it “a catastrophic development in the midst of the ongoing collapse of the public health sector”.
According to the party, while the NHI, in rhetoric, sets out to right the wrongs of inequality, access to healthcare, and deliver universal healthcare coverage, in essence, it falls far short of these aspirations”.
“On countless occasions, the EFF has highlighted problematic clauses within the Bill and its fundamental position on the developing of a national funding pool. This is precisely because the health system of our country does not need a NSFAS-style funding system to resolve the crisis of debilitating healthcare that plagues our country,” EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said in a statement.
He added that the system proposed by the NHI Bill was unsustainable, as the country had witnessed before with numerous programmes of the ANC government.
“In its true form, the NHI is an overt admittance by the ANC government of failing to build a working health system for our people. They have thus resolved to outsource healthcare and our people’s well-being to the private sector.
“At the centre of the private sector’s priority, with regard to healthcare, is the ability to source profit. This priority of the private sector will not diminish only because the government is now the customer. If anything, it will be aggravated as the internal systems developed in the NHI Bill are not cognisant of this, nor are they able to provide a sustainable solution to this.”
Thambo added that a concerning requirement of the NHI was the “referral system”.
He said:
The ACDP echoed similar sentiments and said it rejected the Bill.
“We are of the opinion that the architecture of change requires critical elements to be present. The question begs whether the lofty aims of universal healthcare, for all, can be achieved under this administration and whether the legislation before this house when implemented, will move us closer to this aim,” a statement from the party reads.
“It is our assessment that the biggest hurdle to transformation is in capacity and a serious leadership deficit over the last decade that eroded trust in the government to deliver the most basic of services, never mind the total overhaul of the health sector.
The consequences of this proposed legislation will be far-reaching and very costly, with the inevitable consequence that we may face an exodus out of the country by medical corporations and human capital.”
The party added that “this Bill will collapse the health sector because, in its current form, it proposes to change with the wrong agent in charge”.
Taking an even harsher tone, the DA described the Bill as one of the ANC’s biggest scams.
DA MP Michele Clarke said:
“Without private patient funding, private health facilities will be dependent on government funding, effectively making them public health facilities without the benefit of a dedicated budget.”
Despite the opposition slamming the Bill’s passing, the ANC, through its national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengi-Motsiri, said the Bill was “a vehicle and catalyst for universal health access”.
The ANC said the historic development paved the way for all South Africans to access free medical healthcare effectively and sustainably, in line with the party’s vision for a caring society with access to services irrespective of income level.
“Parliament’s passing of the Bill will accelerate the overhaul of the medical system that is inclusive and responsive to the needs of the poor. This overhaul will lead to improved health infrastructure, a capable and sustainable healthcare service,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
The Bill will now go to the National Council of Provinces, before going to the president for his stamp of approval.
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