MEDICAL SERVICES
Teamwork and more integration could revitalise healthcare
It may be that in SA, too, the key drivers of change will be the private sector
In the recent National Health Insurance white paper, the government set out the agenda for national healthcare insurance, committing to value-based purchase principles. It is time for medical aid schemes to respond, but unfortunately we have not yet seen much response of substance, with many opting to defend the status quo. While we are not yet in the same position as the US — where many families’ benefits have diminished for years in the face of escalating prices and are now risking their health and financial future by giving up cover entirely — we are heading that way. The diminishing portion of South Africans with medical aid scheme cover (now 15%) experience similar symptoms of a system in crisis. Regular above-inflation premium increases mean that fewer young working South Africans can afford private medical aid scheme cover, and those who do purchase it are routinely faced with high out-of-pocket copayments or no payment at all. In the US, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorg...
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