President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to sign the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law on Wednesday.
During the 2024 State of the Nation Address (Sona), Ramaphosa mentioned that the Bill arrived in his office, teasing that: “I am still looking for a pen” to sign.
The Presidency confirmed in a statement on Monday that Ramaphosa found the pen he was looking for to authorise the Bill.
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO PUBLICLY SIGN NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE BILL INTO LAW
President @CyrilRamaphosa will on Wednesday, 15 May 2024, publicly sign into law the National Health Insurance Bill which directs the transformation of the South Africa’s health care system to achieve…
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) May 13, 2024
The signing of the bill will take place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The objective of the NHI Bill is set to provide universal access to quality health care for all South Africans of all races, rich or poor, and legal long-term residents.
Through the bill, South Africans will no longer be required to contribute directly to a medical health scheme to get quality health care.
The NHI will make healthcare more affordable, by reducing the cost of healthcare for all.
People without medical aid will not be charged when visiting healthcare facilities because the NHI fund would cover the costs in the same way that medical schemes do for their members.
The bill fund will be funded from general taxes, Contributions of persons earning above a set amount, and monthly contributions made by the employees to the fund.
This is simple to have one pool of healthcare funding for private and public healthcare providers alike.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) voted in favour of the bill last year. The bill was tabled in 2019.
However, this was met with criticism from opposition parties and other groups who said the bill was unconstitutional and would destroy the health sector.
Many threatened to take action against the government if the law was passed.
Meanwhile, the Health Department stated that the Bill will not replace Medical Aid Schemes, adding that members will be free to continue with their medical schemes if they still wish to.
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