President Cyril Ramaphosa will publicly sign the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law on Wednesday, 15 May.
According to the South African Government, the bill aims to transform South Africa’s health care system to ‘achieve universal coverage for health services’ in order to ‘overcome critical socio-economic imbalances and inequities’.
Also read: Western Cape health MEC urges president to reconsider NHI Bill over concerns
Since the bill was introduced in 2019, it has been viewed as controversial.
According to News24, Business Unity SA (BUSA) has confirmed that it will ‘consider legal action’ after President Ramaphosa signs the NHI bill into law.
On Tuesday, BUSA stated that the bill was ‘unimplementable and damaging to the country’s healthcare sector, to the economy more broadly and to investor confidence’.
‘We fully support the objective of universal health coverage, however, the NHI Bill in its current form is unworkable, unaffordable, and not in line with the Constitution,’ said Cas Coovadia, BUSA CEO.
‘What is especially troubling is that the president is proceeding with the bill despite extensive constructive inputs made by a wide range of stakeholders, including doctors and healthcare professionals, civil society, public sector unions, academics and business,’ Coovidia added.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), according to News24, intends to ‘petition Ramaphosa not to sign the bill and to refer it back to Parliament,’ joining BUSA in its efforts to have the bill litigated.
Section 33, which refers to ‘phasing out the benefits for which medical schemes may compensate members for’, has been considered unlawful because it would limit access to healthcare rather than enhance it.
The signing ceremony will take place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria at 2pm. Dr Joe Phaahla will conduct a question-and-answer session with the media after the signing.
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO PUBLICLY SIGN NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE BILL INTO LAW
President @CyrilRamaphosa will on Wednesday, 15 May 2024, publicly sign into law the National Health Insurance Bill which directs the transformation of the South Africa’s health care system to achieve…
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) May 13, 2024
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