nehawu80ANA reports that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) announced on Monday it would picket against high and rising costs in the private health industry on Friday, 18 October.  

This would be as part of its campaign in support of the introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI).  The government in August tabled the long-awaited National Health Insurance Bill, which aims to contain the cost of comprehensive public health care by prioritising primary and preventative medical services.  Nehawu said it would picket at the Sandton head office of Netcare, the largest provider of private healthcare in SA.  "This protest picket is the first in the series of a range of other actions that are in the pipeline, which we shall mount with other organisations to ensure that the prevalent profiteering in the private health industry is stopped," the union said in a statement.  Nehawu added that it would press for the appropriate regulation of healthcare charges to ensure value for money and affordability for all.


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