On Tuesday 12 June, the National Assembly passed the National Health Insurance Bill, leaving many South Africans confused about the meaning of the Bill.

According to the parliamentary press release: The NHI Bill seeks to provide universal access to healthcare services in the country through the National Health Insurance White Paper and the Constitution of South Africa. The Bill envisages the establishment of a National Health Insurance Fund and sets out its powers, functions, and governance structures. The fund will purchase healthcare services for all users who are registered with it.

The Bill will also create mechanisms for the equitable, effective, and efficient utilisation of the resources of the fund to meet the health needs of users and preclude or limit undesirable, unethical, and unlawful practices about the fund. It further seeks to address barriers to access.

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Since its approval, the bill has received a lot of criticism, with most of it focused on the financing of the NHI. One of the Bill's critics is the South African Medical Association. According to News24, the Bill was developed with disregard to the legitimate concerns and recommendations of experts, particularly on critical issues such as the introduction of contracting units for primary healthcare, benefits packages, and reimbursement models, among others. 

Chief Product Officer at Discovery Health, Deon Kotze, had a chat with Nico, explaining what the bill means to South Africans at this moment. Deon also explains that the Bill still has to go through more phases before it is sent back to the president, who would then put it into law. 

At the publishing of this article, the National Council of Province’s Committee on Health 5 PM received a briefing from officials from the Department of Health on the Bill.