Cornerstone of NHI taken down in court
24 June 2022
Solidarity has succeeded in taking down one of the major cornerstones of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI). This came after the North Gauteng High Court declared sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act unconstitutional, with costs.
According to Solidarity, the state’s goal with these sections clearly was to pave the way for the NHI and to compensate for the bankruptcy of the state coffers.
“The government wants to change to a system in which health care is nationalised and health care practitioners become servants of the state so that the provision of all health care can be centrally controlled by the state. This victory thwarts those disastrous plans,” said Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann.
Sections 36 to 40 provided that health care practitioners had to obtain a certificate of need (CoN) from the Health Department before they could establish a practice in a specific area.