THE period for public comment on the National Health Insurance (NHI) white paper has closed, and the arguments for and against the proposed overhaul of the healthcare system are clear.Some argue that the NHI will be too expensive and cumbersome to finance and administer, and that it is based on outdated and false projections and assumptions. Others say the scheme is the only way to ensure equity for all in healthcare.There have been predictions that doctors will leave the country if the scheme is implemented, that the burden of disease will crush the NHI as currently described, and even that the insurance will become just another tenderpreneur frenzy.In response, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi calls these criticisms "misinformation, distortions, hyperbole, Afro-pessimism, insults, and attacks", while asserting that the NHI is not an attack on the private health-care system nor on the middle class.The pragmatic reality about the concerns raised is that they are backed by motivation...
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