NHI: Legal action to follow

25 May 2023

Solidarity will continue to take the government and the Department of Health to court if the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is accepted as final. Solidarity’s reaction follows after the Bill was accepted by the Portfolio Committee on Health yesterday.

Solidarity already successfully approached the court in June 2022 when sections 36 to 40 of this legislation was declared unconstitutional. Solidarity also actively participated in the public processes from the initial publication of the NHI Bill by submitting comments as well as making presentations in parliament.

“The acceptance of the NHI is strongly condemned by Solidarity. In the run-up to next year’s election, and in order to canvass cheap votes, the ANC government insists on pushing through this law while they are fully aware that their own system cannot support it. They are misleading South Africans by saying that the NHI will promote healthcare in South Africa while concealing the fact that healthcare is readily available, but that the officials managing these essential services do not have the political will to do what is necessary to improve the quality of health services that must be delivered,” said Peirru Marx, Network Coordinator of the medical industry at Solidarity.

According to Marx, that government should rather effectively utilise its budget for healthcare to repair the current system and apply better management in state institutions, instead of hijacking the private sector and forcing it to disguise its failure in the medical industry.

“Implementing the NHI will undoubtedly result in a disaster in the medical industry. The government is simply not to be trusted. Their history of abuse of power, mismanagement and corruption will undoubtedly compromise the quality of medical care. We are also worried about the number of healthcare practitioners who have indicated that they will not work in these circumstances. There is also prevailing concern about the complete collapse of the free market in this sector as a result of the NHI,” Marx argued.

“Solidarity is already meeting with its legal team and will immediately take action if the NHI is approved as final. We will not stand by as our healthcare practitioners are handed over to the government. We will not be quiet while ordinary citizens are forced to use a system where medication and healthcare might possibly work the same as loadshedding,” Marx concluded.

Issued by Peirru Marx, Network Coordinator: Medical industry, Solidarity, 25 May 2023