10153 NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE: WHY, WHAT AND HOW?

Professor Diane McIntyre, Health Economist and Dr Anban Pillay, Chief Director, Directorate of Health Financing and Economics, National Department of Health

The introduction of mandatory health insurance in South Africa was first mooted in the 1940s (by the Collie Committee of Enquiry) and there has been intense debate on this issue since the late 1980s. A resolution to implement a National Health Insurance (NHI) was adopted at the ANC Conference in Polokwane in December 2007, putting health care financing once again high on the policy agenda. The proposed NHI aims to ensure that all South Africans are able to access health services when they need care and to provide financial protection against the frequently high costs of using health services. The NHI is an attempt by government to fulfil its constitutional obligation to provide access to health services and to promote the right to health contained in the Bill of Rights.

Although the ANC had been working on detailed proposals, the process of developing a formal government policy position and engaging with stakeholders on policy options, was only initiated in August 2009. By this time, there had already been heated debate in the media, much of which has not clarified the policy options but created even greater public confusion.

This lunch-time lecture will discuss the rationale for the proposed NHI, what form it may take, what the proposals may mean for South Africans and how an NHI may be implemented.

Recommended reading
 McIntyre, D. Learning from experience: Health care financing in low- and middle-income countries. Geneva: Global Forum for Health Research, 2007.
 http://www.globalforumhealth.org/Media-Publications/Publications/Learning-from-Experience-health-care-financing-in-low-and-middle-income-countries