POLITICS

R23.6bn paid in medical legal claims from 2020 to date – Michele Clarke

DA MP says this bodes terribly for the ANC’s NHI pipedream

R23.6 billion paid in medical legal claims from 2020 to date – a red herring for NHI

12 March 2024

In response to a parliamentary question, the DA can reveal that R23.6 billion has been paid in medico-legal claims across our provinces from January 2020 to December 2023. Further, R1.3 billion has been spent in legal costs for these cases. This figure is staggering, especially considering the widespread shortages of healthcare funding across our provinces and bodes terribly for the ANC’s National Health Insurance (NHI) pipedream.

A total of 3 522 claims were filed, with sadly, our poorer, more rural provinces taking the lion’s share. Notably, Limpopo alone had a quarter (903) of claims filed, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with over a fifth (779).

Also notable is the omission of the Eastern Cape’s figures, as the province is still verifying its figures, but it is without doubt that the province will continue to have the highest claims filed, the highest legal costs and highest claims paid.

Broken down in claims paid per province, KwaZulu-Natal has paid the most, with an eye-watering R8.67 billion paid. KZN is followed by the Free State, with R2.48 billion, and Gauteng with R1.89 billion. Broken down in legal costs per province, Gauteng spent the most, with R634 million, followed by KZN and Mpumalanga which spent R328 million and R224 million respectively.

In 2022, as medico-legal claim costs had already reached alarming figures, the Auditor-General (AG) warned the National Department of Health, as these figures were significantly taking away from the provision of basic health services. Further, the figures were being exacerbated by fraud, incompetence, and the lack of an electronic case management system (CMS) across the provinces. Despite the AG’s warning, medico-legal claims continue to escalate, while funding for health services continues to decrease.

At the start of this year, 800 unemployed doctors petitioned the Department for a job, and despite the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla’s promises that the National Budget would provide funding, his claims proved to be baseless. Vacancy rates remain high, while also overtime pay for medical personnel faces drastic cuts. While our healthcare system is already on its knees, there will be further staff shortages, particularly during night shifts, weekends, and public holidays – when casualties tend to increase.

Despite all of this, President Cyril Ramaphosa remains “looking for his pen” to sign the disastrous NHI Bill, which will only worsen our healthcare system. By pooling resources into an already dysfunctional healthcare sector, medical claims will only further increase, alongside fraud. While President Ramaphosa looks for his pen, he should also look over the National Budget, which lowered the provincial national health insurance grant by R239 billion.

The National Budget also shifted grants from their beloved NHI to public health oncology services, as the fiscus no longer has room for new funding for cancer treatments, while 10% of our country’s deaths are to cancer.

The ANC government is sadly focused on electioneering and politicking while the facts on the ground are damning, as South Africans suffer real life consequences from poor governance. It, however, does not have to be this way and change is possible.

Under a DA-led government, we will ensure quality access to healthcare for all South Africans, irrespective of economic circumstances.

We will achieve this by:

Leveraging the strengths of the private health care sector to partner with public health care;

Lowering private health care premiums and out of pocket costs;

Ensuring cheaper, more accessible prescription medicines;

Building the necessary health infrastructure, as well as hiring and training more personnel to deliver effective, quality services;

Ensuring that our healthcare system is administered independently and free from politicisation; and

Establishing watchdogs that supervise our healthcare system and report directly to Parliament.

This can only be achieved once the ANC is voted out of national office, and we are presented with that opportunity on May 29th. South Africans must choose a government that puts their health first.

Text of reply:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO. 293

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 23 FEBRUARY 2024

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 04)

Mrs M O Clarke (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(1) What total number of medico-legal claims (a) have been filed and (b) have been paid out as (i) settlements and (ii) court-ordered payments;

(2) what total (a) number of claims were awarded based on (i) lost patient files and (ii) duplicate claims that have been filed and (b) amount has been spent on (i) legal costs and (ii) claim costs from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023? NW331E

REPLY:

The following table reflects the details in this regard:

NAME OF THE PROVINCE

1 (a) Total number of medico-legal claims filed

1 (b) Total number of the claims paid out

1 (b) (i) Total number of claims paid out as settlements

1 (b) (ii) Total number of claims paid out as court ordered payments

2 (a) (i) Total number of claims that were awarded based on lost patient files

2 (a) (ii) Total number of duplicate claims that have been filed

2 (b) (i) Total amount spent on legal cost

2 (b) (ii) Total amount of claim cost

Eastern Cape[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free State

651

53

50

3

0

0

R37 259 798.24

R2 484 606 393.54

Gauteng

322

449

0

449

108

0

R634 637 738.31

R1 897 283 000.00

KwaZulu- Natal

779

 94

0

 94

 0

1

R328 252 675.68

R8 677 266 708.80

Limpopo

903

30

2

28

0

1

R63 145 941.00

R266 804 823.43

Mpumalanga

569

62

32

30

15

0

R224 990 555.00

R245 485 320.00

Northern Cape

57

28

27

1

7

0

R24 670 478.26

R152 235 223.45

North West

241

22

15

7

0

0

R59 270 605.65

R99 136 357.41

Western Cape[2]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totals

3522

738

126

612

130

1

R1 372 227 792,14

R23 637 317 204,63

 

[1] Eastern Cape still verify the figures.

[2] Still waiting the information from WC. We have been advised that the responses have been forwarded to the HoD for approval.

ENDS

Issued by Michele Clarke, DA Shadow Minister of Health, 12 March 2024