Why the NHI is unconstitutional and a violation of the rule of law
Instead of trampling on people’s rights, the government should focus on funding healthcare and leave the provision of it to the private sector
The government’s National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme and demarcation regulations are unequivocal violations of South Africans’ constitutional rights to freedom of association and access to healthcare. Rather than engaging in such repressive behaviour, the government should be funding private medical care for the poor. Freedom of association and disassociation is a right guaranteed by section 18 of the Constitution. This means that if you as a free person do not want to associate yourself with someone or something, you need not. This, read with the section 27(1)(a) right to have access to healthcare, unambiguously means that South Africans cannot be forced to associate with a government programme should they prefer a private alternative. When these rights are read together, South Africans are legally entitled to choose their medical service providers without molestation by the government. The government interfered with healthcare throughout the days of apartheid. The enactment of ...
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