Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi released two bills on Thursday that pave the way for sweeping reforms to the healthcare system.
Both are likely to lead to heated debate with private sector providers over what is a fair rate for their services.
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill seeks to establish a fund that will contract with accredited public and private sector providers to pay for healthcare services for its beneficiaries, as the government realises its ambition for providing universal healthcare. A crucial aspect of this plan will be the mechanism established to determine what the fund will pay hospitals, doctors and other healthcare professionals.
"It is likely to be a difficult process to determine a fair price for both sides," said Insight Actuaries & Consultants joint CEO Barry Childs.
The National Health Insurance Bill was released for public comment with the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill.
The changes planned for the medical schemes industry were intended to align it with NHI and provide greater protection to consumers, said the minister.
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