AfriForum says NHI may jeopardise clinics serving poorer communities

VAAL TRIANGLE - AfriForum says proponents of the National Health Insurance paint a distorted picture of private healthcare in South Africa to present it as the only solution. The NHI Bill, which provides a framework for the provision of universal care through a state-run fund, is on president Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk to be signed into law. AfriForum’s Louis Boshoff says the implementation of NHI may jeopardise clinics serving poorer communities.

Meanwhile, Solidarity has slammed Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi’s bold promises related to the National Health Insurance scheme. Campaigning in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, earlier this week, the premier promised that anyone who votes for the ANC will be able to walk into any private healthcare facility and get medical assistance for free. Solidarity’s Theuns du Buisson says Lesufi's comments cannot just be laughed off as mere election talk, as they can have serious consequences. The union says the NHI, which Lesufi claim will fund this, has not even been signed into law. It warns that there could even be riots when people start flocking to these hospitals only to find that they were fooled by Lesufi.

PHOTO: (Supplied)