The National Health Insurance (NHI) fund is set to shake up South Africa's healthcare sector but experts caution that it will not be a success if South Africa does not first resolve existing problems. The country's public healthcare system is plagued by staff, medicine and supply shortages, poor infrastructure and surgery backlogs. The private sector — although providing better quality healthcare — is characterised by prohibitive and ever increasing costs. The disparities in both sectors were highlighted by Statistics SA's General Household Survey 2017 which found 71.2% of households made use of public healthcare facilities as their point of access. House holds that access private healthcare amounted to 27.4%. To bridge the gap and ensure all South Africans have access to free, high-quality care, the Department of Health has introduced the National Health Insurance Bill, which will pave the way for the NHI fund. However, the bill does not elaborate on where the budget for the fund —...
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