Medical aids back new system

Cape Town - Medical aid groups support the proposed National Health Insurance system, on condition that it does not impact negatively on their members' access to health care, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) said on Wednesday.

It said the groups wanted all South Africans to be given the same level of health care currently available to 7.5m medical scheme members in the country.

But their access to good health care must remain stable or improve.

"The NHI system should therefore work on bringing levels of access up to those enjoyed by the currently insured population and not inadvertently reduce the levels of access of the latter," BHF said in a statement issued after a meeting of medical aid schemes.

If not, the system would compromise South Africans' constitutional rights in terms of health care it, warned.

"The wording of section 27(3) of the Constitution states that the government must "within its available resources", take reasonable legislative and other measures to ensure the "progressive" realisation of the right of access to health care services.

"It will not be progressive to increase the access of one sector of the population by reducing that of another."

BHF said the health costs of medical aid members was roughly six time the total spent by government on providing health care for the rest of the country's citizens.

This was partly to blame on a lack of human resources, which must be addressed under the new system, it said.

"Where there is one pharmacist for every 1 000 beneficiaries in the private sector, there are 17 000 beneficiaries to one pharmacist in the public sector.

"Similarly, there is one GP for every 540 beneficiaries in the private sector whereas there are 4 000 to every one GP in the public sector. This, amidst a growing burden of disease especially in the public sector."

- Sapa