The NHI Bill’s vague composition leaves a lot of questions – and potential constitutional pitfalls, parliament’s legal advisors warn.
The Parliamentary Legal Services has briefed the portfolio committee on health, providing feedback and insights on the National Health Insurance Bill currently being processed by the government.
This would lead to a significant and fundamental shift in South Africa’s healthcare landscape, effectively bringing both private and public healthcare under the same state-controlled umbrella, and would see industries like health insurance and medical aids largely fall away, except for very specific circumstances.
The only time patients would be able to lean on medical aid cover is when their procedures are not covered by the NHI, they fail to follow the lines of referral, or the treatment they seek is not deemed medically necessary. However, the PSL said that this aspect of the bill could push the proposed legislation into a constitutional trap.
“Further, as the full benefits available on NHI have not yet been determined, it is unclear to what extent it will affect the rights of those currently receiving medical treatment via medical schemes.” “If medical scheme users suffer a reduction in access to healthcare as a result of the implementation of the NHI, this will give rise to a constitutional challenge based on a violation of section 27 of the Constitution,” the advisors said.
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