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Investigation calls into question the narratives used to support NHI
BHF-commissioned study identifies 11 assertions made about private healthcare and medical schemes that lack foundation.
‘Lack of maintenance or wear and tear’ gave rise to most of the disputes in several categories of insurance.
Read moreBHF-commissioned study identifies 11 assertions made about private healthcare and medical schemes that lack foundation.
The signing of the NHI Act does not mean the BHF is letting up in its fight for regulations on low-cost benefit options.
The trade union says moves are afoot for members of the National Assembly to bring an application against the NHI Act.
Members of medical schemes are paying up to 30% more because the regulatory system broke down after the government’s focus shifted to NHI.
There are concerns about the sustainability of private providers and whether the public will face higher costs to maintain their current level of healthcare.
In an interview this week, President Ramaphosa was asked whether South Africans will pay higher taxes to fund NHI.
The expected legal challenges to the legislation and the pressure on the state’s finances could delay full implementation of the system for many years.
The BHF’s canvassing of key policy issues in the public domain via a ‘deliberately leaked’ lawyer’s letter indicates the organisation ‘has run out of creative ideas’.
The CMS asserts that medical schemes have frequently disregarded the existing appeals procedures, exploiting them to the detriment of members’ interests.
The regulator comes out swinging in its response to the Board of Healthcare Funders’ claims of bullying and curatorship abuse.
National Treasury will work with the Department of Health on the funding scenarios outlined in the 2017 White Paper.
The BHF raises 10 issues, including the ‘misuse’ of curatorships, whether NHI is informing policy prematurely, and the absence of low-cost benefit options.
Meanwhile, Solidarity suffers a setback in its efforts to halt the government’s preparations for implementing the system.
The Minister of Finance says the R1.4 billion allocation demonstrates the government’s commitment to National Health Insurance.
The substantial tax increases would have to be implemented in an already tough economic environment, says a report by FTI Consulting.
Not providing tax relief will be a relatively easy way for a cash-strapped National Treasury to collect revenue.