NHI draft bill by December?

Johannesburg - The government hopes to produce a draft bill on a proposed scheme that intends to combine the public and private health sectors by December, the Sunday Times reported.

It was hoped that legislation establishing a National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme would be approved by Parliament next year, Deputy Health Minister Molefi Sefularo was quoted as saying.

According to an ANC document released on Friday, which sketches the outlines the system, those who could afford to pay for healthcare would subside those who couldn't - what it called "social solidarity".

The document had been approved by the party's health and education sub-committee and would be sent on to the national executive committee.

Among the proposals contained in the report were that anyone would be able to attend a private or public hospital without having to pay; public health funding and medical aid contributions would go into a pool from which the government would allocate money to doctors, clinics and hospitals.

Tax rebates for medical aid contributions would be abolished, workers earning more than a set amount and employers would have to make contributions to an NHI fund and there would be a cap on what doctors or hospitals could claim from the fund for services rendered, the report continued.

Sefularo said the existing health department would not be able to cope with the project without "deep and radical" overhaul.

The ANC's report also acknowledged that service in the public health sector declined over the past 15 years.

"In many areas, access has increased but quality has deteriorated. There are also many public hospitals which experience management failure related to the employment of incompetent managers," it read.

- Sapa