From April: Government’s NHI plan is based on squeezing out private healthcare

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has been tasked with an important aspect of the "radical economic transformation" agenda, and that is to nationalise healthcare in SA. Motsoaledi’s task of implementing "free healthcare for all" was previously "blocked" by the National Treasury, which was supposed to release a costing of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme in parallel with the publication of the NHI White Paper, published in December 2015. Despite the promises, however, there has been no official costing and no new White Paper. Lack of funds aside, the government is determined to go ahead with the implementation of the project. Indeed, former finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced in his budget speech: "The government is moving ahead with the next phase of implementation of the NHI … [and] an NHI fund will be established". In the speech, Gordhan alluded to the idea that current medical scheme tax credits could be reduced or phased out. Ironically, tax credits linke...