Half of South African's medical Aid exhaust their funds by middle of year
ANC reiterates the importance of a National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme in the country
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Following reports at the beginning of the week that over half of all medical
aid members in South Africa had exhausted their funds by the middle of the year,
the ANC has come out with a statement that reiterates the importance of a
National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme in the country.
The ANC said on Tuesday that the scheme will help those members who were not
able to get value for their money through their private medical schemes, despite
the exorbitant fees charged.
"The ANC shares the view that the medical aid industry has consistently
failed to control the cost of healthcare and has been unable to address
efficiencies and equity in the private sector," said an ANC spokesperson, Jessie
Duarte.
"Only through the NHI, will we overcome the present inequitable and
fragmented two tier healthcare system, by pooling healthcare funds into a single
one."
Duarte said that premiums or contributions could effectively cost members
anything between R12K and R80K a year, even though benefits were already
exhausted before that year was up.
She said that most medical aid members were left underinsured and needed to
fork out huge sums of money from their own pocket when they faced medical
expenses.
"The key lasting solution lies not only in addressing the needs of the 40
million uninsured, but also the millions who are currently insured or under
insured by the medical schemes," she said. "It is precisely the current problems
associated with the medical schemes that the ANC has embarked on a policy
process to ensure that South Africa re-organize the manner in which healthcare
is financed, by introducing the NHI."
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