Social solidarity for quality health care for all

HATHU MAMAILA: In summary, what is NHI? AARON MOTSOALEDI:

NHI (National Health Insurance) is a health financing system that is designed to pool funds to provide access to quality affordable personal health services for all South Africans based on their health needs, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

It is exactly what medical aid schemes are doing but with two very notable differences: (i) The word “all” does not apply in medical aid schemes. They are for a selected few in society, whereas NHI will be for all South Africans in keeping with the fact that health is a right in the constitution and hence cannot be for a selected few, (ii) In medical aid schemes, you get a particular type of health service depending on your socio-economic status and not on your health needs. In NHI your socio-economic status will not matter but your health needs will determine what form of service you get. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN call it Universal Health Coverage (UHC) because nobody is left behind. Quality health is the ultimate dividend of freedom. Propelled by this understanding, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi (AM) has introduced the National Health Insurance (NHI). In an extensive interview, Motsoaledi tells Khathu Mamaila (KM) that the main objective of the NHI is to provide quality health care to all South Africans regardless of their economic status

As I have already said, what is not affordable is the present system. I have given you the figures and numbers. People who believe that NHI is not going to be affordable wrongly think that under NHI, we are going to allow the present high health-care costs. Both the WHO and the OECD have already declared that South Africa is running one of the most expensive health-care systems in the world.

The NHI is actually designed to fight these expenses.

Both the WHO and OECD state that only 10% of South Africa’s population can afford the present private health-care cost.

Clearly it is the present system that is not affordable, not NHI. Do you think under NHI we are going to agree to pay R7 000 to R10 000 for a simple circumcision as it is happening today in the present private health sector? No ways. NHI will not allow that. The problem is that people wrongly believe that NHI is simply going to be a bigger version of the present system. It is not going to be.