Share

Private sector involvement vital for NHI - expert

Cape Town – South Africa should rely on the expertise and strengths of its private healthcare system for a successful rollout of its planned national health insurance (NHI) scheme, according to the former head of Ghana’s national health insurance system.

Nathaniel Otoo, former CEO of the Ghanaian National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), addressed delegates at the Board of Healthcare Funders’ national conference in Cape Town, sharing some of Ghana’s challenges with implementation of universal healthcare.

Universal healthcare is one of the Millennium Development Goals and countries around the world are currently grappling with the challenge to realise this by 2030.

Otoo stressed the importance of private sector involvement in the quest for universal healthcare in his country.

“The private sector must play a role from the onset, as it is an engine of growth that often excels in innovation, financial management, risk taking and entrepreneurship and customer care.”

He said in implementing universal healthcare in South Africa, the country could effectively leverage these private sector strengths to ensure a successful NHI implementation.

“If well planned and conceived, the private sector could be a reliable partner for regulation, governance, health service provision, quality improvement, financial intermediation, information systems support, commodity supply chains, and most importantly customer care.”

There are still challenges that prevent universal health from being fully implemented in Ghana though, such as the financial sustainability of the model, poor regulation in the health sector, inequitable distribution and poor quality of services.

“With over 200 hospitals in the country, run mostly by the government through the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Services, corruption and maladministration in the distribution of funds for expanding and sustaining the NHIS poses a major challenge,” he said.

Otoo said in Ghana, the NHIS was established in response to very limited access to healthcare as a result of a fee payment system called “cash and carry” which came into effect in the 1980s.

“By the early 2000s, only about 20% of the population could access healthcare in Ghana and this was a significant reason for launching the NHIS.”

Ghana has a population of about 27.4 million and the country still has some way to go before achieving universal healthcare, with only 41% of the population currently covered by NHIS.

The discussion on universal healthcare comes as South Africa is embarking on its own NHI implementation. Cabinet recently approved the NHI White Paper and it will soon be gazetted as a national policy document.

The proposed system however faces a number of challenges, such as uncertainty about funding and the future role of medical schemes and private healthcare providers.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.97
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
24.12
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.63
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.40
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.3%
Platinum
911.84
-1.3%
Palladium
1,018.92
-4.4%
Gold
2,161.29
+0.0%
Silver
25.11
+0.3%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,430
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders