BusinessLive reports that health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday that the government would ensure that the National Health Insurance (NHI) bill was tabled in parliament soon.  

The proposed legislation will have to be considered by both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, and go through public consultation, before it can be implemented.  It will have far-reaching health reforms aimed at achieving the government’s ambition of providing universal health coverage.  Its main aim will be to launch a NHI Fund that will purchase health services on behalf of patients from public and private sector providers, which will be free at the point of care.  A key aspect of the bill will be the future role it envisages for medical schemes, which currently provide coverage to about 8.9-million people.  Earlier this year, the Hospital Association of SA (Hasa), which represents the private hospital sector, warned that NHI could lead to the loss of up to 132,000 jobs.  Various stakeholders have warned that the roll-out of the NHI will not succeed if the poor management of public healthcare facilities persists, and the shortage of doctors and other health professionals is not addressed.

• Read the full original of Bekezela Phakathi’s informative report on this story at BusinessLive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page