By Rachel Mohamed
The Board of Healthcare Funders has gone to court to challenge the National Health Insurance Act, arguing that the act should be repealed and alleging that President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi are delaying the court’s decision.
Speaking on VOC’s News Beat show, Dr. Katlego Mothudi, the Managing Director of the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), expressed that the BHF has been actively involved in discussions since the time of the Green and White Paper. The aim has been to ensure that the eventual act would be suitable and address the needs of all South Africans.
In their most recent formal submission to the National Council of Provinces, the organization expressed concern over the lack of consideration given to their input, as the act experienced few changes despite multiple verbal and written submissions. Just before President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the act into law, the organization sent two letters to the president to provide further feedback.
Dr. Mothudi highlighted key concerns regarding the constitutionality of certain sections, particularly Section 33. “This section states that once the fund is fully established, medical schemes will be prohibited from providing or funding services that are otherwise available. He argued that “this would infringe upon individuals’ rights to choose their healthcare using their after-tax money.”
Listen for the full interview:
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
