News24 reports that the Department of Health says it won't back down from implementing the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI).

Speaking on Wednesday, the deputy director-general in charge of the NHI at the department, Dr Nicholas Crisp, said they hoped the NHI Bill would go through Parliament by the end of the year. The bill has been before Parliament for two-and-half years. Last week, Crisp briefed MPs on the bill after public hearings and indicated that they had received many comments. "We are ready to respond to the wording and strengthening of the bill. We are not going to backtrack on creating one health system; it is not on our agenda. We want everybody in South Africa to get a good health system," Crisp stated. He went on to indicate: "We know there are parties that have told us, outright, they are taking us to the Constitutional Court. We would have never tabled the bill if we were not confident we would win those cases. We are certain that, if we are challenged, we will be fine." The DA has said it would fight the NHI all the way to the Constitutional Court.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tebogo Monama at News24

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