In two separately issued press releases, Sakeliga and Solidarity have expressed their strong opposition to the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme in South Africa. Solidarity prepares for a court battle, citing unaffordability and a potential exodus of healthcare professionals, while Sakeliga rejects the NHI, deeming it unworkable and harmful. The two press releases emphasize the power of business and civil society organisations in delaying and preventing the implementation of the NHI, and both organisations invite cooperation and support from others who share their concerns.
Business and civil society must first delay, then prevent NHI
13 June 2023 – Sakeliga does not and will not accept the proposed national health insurance scheme accepted by the Parliament of South Africa today.Ā
Sakeliga considers the Bill on National Health Insurance unimplementable, unworkable, and harmful. It is detrimental to economy, to health, and to society in general.
We emphasise that resolute opposition by business and civil society organisations can delay the NHIās progress by years and buy enough time to prevent its implementation. Between the Billās implementation lies not only many further legislative processes, not only several political elections, and not only waves of litigation, but in the final instance the unwavering opposition of responsible business and civil society organisations who are standing up like never before.
Sakeliga looks forward to co-operation against the NHI with many strong organisations in the coming years. We invite businesses, who wish to ensure a flourishing economy for a flourishing society and prevent the state from taking control of health care services, to approach and support Sakeliga.
Piet le Roux
CEO: Sakeliga
Cell: 082 616 9501
Tian Alberts
Legal and Liaison Officer: Sakeliga
Cell: 084 281 7017
Heading to court about NHIĀ Ā Ā
14 June 2023 – Solidarity today announced that it is getting ready for a major court case against the governmentās plans for national health insurance. This comes after the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill was approved in parliament yesterday.
According to Solidarity, the latest legislation will undoubtedly be challenged in court. Solidarityās comments on the proposed law already took the form of legal documents and it has instructed its legal team to start preparing for a court case.
āWe realised from the outset that the NHI would probably be tested in court. The governmentās plans to capture healthcare are unaffordable and unimplementable. It will lead to a mass exodus of health practitioners from the country,ā Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann said.
Solidarity has participated in all the public participation processes and has already achieved several victories against the NHI in court. The Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) has also undertaken comprehensive research in the medical sector which shows that the adoption and implementation of the NHI will lead to a huge exodus of medical professionals from the country.
āThe government has already failed with the public healthcare system, and it now wants to fail on an even bigger scale. It has a history of failure when it comes to state enterprises, and there is no reason to believe the proposed NHI would not be to the serious detriment of South Africans. We cannot trust the government and we cannot deliver our medical professionals to them and trust our health to their hand. This is going to be a major court battle,ā Hermann concluded.
Peirru Marx
Network Coordinator: Medical Sector
072 528 5812
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