Details are unclear, but it seems we are unlikely to have any say in which medical professional we will consult
23 May 2024 - 15:35
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Much virtual ink has been spilt since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act into existence, and for good reason. We are asked to entrust not only our hard-earned money but, more importantly, our health and lives to an untrustworthy actor with a track record of poor performance and broken promises.
Most commentators focus on cost, some are worried about fraud, while everybody has questions about the practical feasibility of the proposed system. To these I add another concern, which is surprisingly little discussed in public forums: the loss of personal agency. The outsourcing of personal decisions affecting the health of you or your loved ones to a far-removed administrator.
Like everything else about this fanciful endeavour, the details are still maddeningly unclear, but it seems we are unlikely to have any say in which medical professional we will consult (or not). Soliciting a second opinion from a medical professional you trust will be virtually impossible; something that can have life-or-death implications. Taking responsibility for your own health decisions will for all practical purposes be outlawed.
The medical aids have been oddly muted in their criticism of the NHI and one cannot help wondering whether they are more concerned about securing a slice of the pie, in the form of fat administration contracts, leaving their members to their fates. Our president seems to have picked up on this as well, considering whether to give them more say in the NHI rollout — essentially buying them off.
Well, let me be clear: in a free country, having any decisions over my health taken by anyone except myself or the medical professional who earned my trust is fundamentally wrong. And it does not matter if our distant decisionmaker is based in a government office or at a medical aid.
Johann Neveling Pretoria
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Personal agency missing in NHI debate
Details are unclear, but it seems we are unlikely to have any say in which medical professional we will consult
Much virtual ink has been spilt since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act into existence, and for good reason. We are asked to entrust not only our hard-earned money but, more importantly, our health and lives to an untrustworthy actor with a track record of poor performance and broken promises.
Most commentators focus on cost, some are worried about fraud, while everybody has questions about the practical feasibility of the proposed system. To these I add another concern, which is surprisingly little discussed in public forums: the loss of personal agency. The outsourcing of personal decisions affecting the health of you or your loved ones to a far-removed administrator.
Like everything else about this fanciful endeavour, the details are still maddeningly unclear, but it seems we are unlikely to have any say in which medical professional we will consult (or not). Soliciting a second opinion from a medical professional you trust will be virtually impossible; something that can have life-or-death implications. Taking responsibility for your own health decisions will for all practical purposes be outlawed.
The medical aids have been oddly muted in their criticism of the NHI and one cannot help wondering whether they are more concerned about securing a slice of the pie, in the form of fat administration contracts, leaving their members to their fates. Our president seems to have picked up on this as well, considering whether to give them more say in the NHI rollout — essentially buying them off.
Well, let me be clear: in a free country, having any decisions over my health taken by anyone except myself or the medical professional who earned my trust is fundamentally wrong. And it does not matter if our distant decisionmaker is based in a government office or at a medical aid.
Johann Neveling
Pretoria
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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