We support National Health Insurance, but more work required prior to implementation
15 May 2024
South Africa cannot abandon its Constitutional responsibilities to develop a just and fair State on the basis of the government’s track-record of incompetence.
Whether or not the State is presently competent to manage the proposed National Health Insurance system is not the question. The question is: Is it the right thing to do?
And, if it’s the right thing to do, how do all of us – that’s the state, medical professionals and citizens – contribute to its competent management?
The starting point, for these questions is our history. Thirty years ago, our democracy inherited a multi-tier health system: The middle-class, with medical aid, received superior treatment from private health professionals and institutions, while the State ran parallel, racialised and bantustanised health departments for the less well-off.