President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Health Bill into law on 15 May 2024.
Kaelo fully supports the objective of universal health coverage, however, it is widely accepted that in its current form, the NHI is considered unworkable, unaffordable, and not in line with the constitution, and is expected to be legally challenged.
Although the NHI Bill has become law, it is expected to take many years to fully implement, as none of the necessary mechanisms needed to implement the scheme have been put in place. For instance, the government must first establish the governance structure for the NHI fund, accredit service providers, and register beneficiaries before it can begin offering services to patients under the scheme. Additionally, it needs to introduce measures for financing the fund, which have not yet been determined.
What does this mean going forward?
- We need to understand how the bill will be regulated, including time frames and implementation strategy.
- Private health insurance will still be necessary alongside any form of NHI, as seen in many other countries.
- Regardless of its form, implementing NHI will take a significant amount of time due to resource, funding, and infrastructure constraints.
- A phased implementation strategy will allow us to build a business model that aligns with NHI.
What does this mean for policyholders and stakeholders?
Please be assured that policies remain unaffected. The benefits remain the same and Kaelo remains committed to providing affordable, accessible healthcare.