Parliament’s health committee will request a meeting with the state attorney to discuss concerns around the constitutionality of the National Health Insurance Bill.
The bill, which was tabled in parliament late last week, will effect far-reaching health reforms aimed at achieving the government’s ambition of providing universal health coverage. Its main aim is to launch an NHI Fund that will purchase health services on behalf of patients from public- and private-sector providers. This will be free at the point of care.
Since the details of NHI were released last week, shares in the country’s biggest medical aid administrators plunged amid uncertainty in the market around the future of private healthcare.
The proposed legislation will have to be considered by both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, and go through public consultation before it can be implemented.
Earlier this week, the DA said it doubted the bill would pass constitutional muster and asked parliament to seek a comprehensive legal opinion on its constitutionality.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the bill and the system it proposes would diminish the constitutionally enshrined rights of provincial legislatures to legislate on matters relating to health care.
“It appears that the bill proposes a system that provinces will not be able to opt out of. ‘Health services’, as defined, will be bought and determined at national level, with the minister of health effectively becoming the single authority over the health sector in the country,” said Maimane.
On Thursday, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, who chairs parliament’s health portfolio committee, said that as legislators start work on the bill, it will be important for the committee to hear a presentation from the office of the state attorney on the legal advice the office provided the government regarding the constitutionality of the proposed health reforms.
“As the committee starts this process, we want to address the concerns raised by various people, including those who think they will find space to challenge the constitutionality of the bill,” said Dhlomo.
The committee will request a meeting with the state attorney, so that all members of the committee can be informed on the legal concerns that have been widely reported on, he said.
“This should be done speedily, so that as we start with the bill we can set aside concerns and know the contribution of legal experts in the matter. The committee does not want anything untoward to delay public participation on the bill. However, we still want to address concerns, hence the importance of starting with the state attorney,” said Dhlomo.
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