President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday signed a controversial National Health Insurance bill into law ahead of the country’s general elections.
The law which aims to provide quality universal health coverage to South Africans has been met with opposition from many citizens. Many are concerned that the execution of the law will be undermined by widespread corruption and budget restraints as the country struggles to fund basic services.
There are a lot of various reasons why this law is considered very controversial.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved a controversial new law that will lead to the biggest shake-up in the health sector since the end of the racist system of apartheid 30 years ago.
It promises universal health care for all, but has faced fierce resistance from the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which has accused the president of signing the “death warrant” of health care in South Africa.
It warns that the scheme could be hugely expensive, and fuel corruption.
What does the law say?
The National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme advocates the creation of a state fund to cover the medical costs of all South Africans – most of whom are not currently covered.
It goes further to bar people from taking out private health insurance for treatment paid for by the fund, which is proving very controversial.
About 80% of South Africans currently rely on the strained state-run public healthcare services while some 16% can afford private healthcare services through medical aid plans. The country’s public health services usually have long queues at the facilities. There is the problem of a shortage of medicine as well as concerns of affordability of services, leading to a possible tax increment to fund it.
According to some polls conducted, the ruling African National Congress ANC is widely expected to lose its majority in parliament in the vote, for the first time since the end of apartheid.
The opposition has accused Ramaphosa of signing the bill into law in an attempt to gather the needed support for his party in the upcoming elections. Groups of political parties, medical organizations, and other stakeholders are threatening to take legal action against the new law.
We will share full and further details of this controversial law in subsequent days.
Source: www.africanews.com ,
