TimesLIVE reports that Solidarity’s challenge of an aspect of the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme was successful when the North Gauteng High Court found that it was invalid to determine where private health practitioners may practise.
The trade union approached the court along with the Alliance of South African Independent Practitioner Associations and others to challenge the health minister, the health department’s director-general and President Cyril Ramaphosa on the validity of the “certificate of need”. The controversial “certificate of need” was adopted by the health department to control where doctors and medical practitioners may practise once the NHI officially starts. Judge Anthony Millar ruled that sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act were invalid in their entirety and were consequently to be severed from the act. He said the certificate of need was “not rational” and there was no connection between the certificate of need scheme and its implementation and the purpose for which it was enacted. Millar ordered that his judgment be directed to the Constitutional Court within 15 days for confirmation of the order of invalidity. Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann said the judgment was a “major blow” to the NHI concept and its principle of central management. “A more extensive consequence of this ruling with regard to the certificate of need is that parts of the NHI Act are now probably also illegal in principle. The NHI, in its current format, cannot be implemented as the essence of the NHI is central planning – and this has now been found unconstitutional,” he pointed out. Solidarity said it would continue to challenge the NHI Act, particularly the centralisation of funds for healthcare. Hermann stated: “Solidarity will, therefore, continue its litigation against the NHI in its entirety and is now in a very strong position to achieve victory in court.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLIVE
- Read too, NHI bid to control where doctors work is defeated, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
- And also, Court declares sections of health act unconstitutional, challenging central planning of NHI, at News24
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