South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) debate may finally be shifting from courtroom combat to negotiation. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has called for the parties litigating against the NHI Act to declare a truce and work towards a settlement. The message is simple. Years of fighting over the policy have drained attention from the daily job of fixing a strained…
Tag: health policy
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NHI Court Challenges: Litigants Reject Settlement Call
Negotiations are unlikely to resolve the NHI Act court challenges in the near future. Most organisations taking the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act to court have poured cold water on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s suggestion that litigants should meet the government and “craft a settlement”. At the heart of the dispute is trust. Several groups argue that the government should…
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NHI Legal Challenges: Talks Stalled by Politics, Funding Gaps
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s call in Parliament to withdraw the nine National Health Insurance (NHI) lawsuits and pursue negotiations hinted at a reset. The NHI legal challenges highlight complex debates over the future of healthcare in South Africa. Some stakeholders, including Profmed’s Craig Comrie, signalled openness to talks to avoid appearing anti-poor. Yet beneath the courtesy lies hard calculus: most…
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Medical Tax Credits Debate Sparks Warnings From Policy Experts
The ongoing Medical Tax Credits debate in South Africa has taken a sharp turn. Leading health policy experts push back against calls to eliminate medical tax credits (MTCs) to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. Professor Alex van den Heever of the Wits School of Governance and Dr Max Price, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, have…
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SA’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis Threatens Specialist Training
South Africa’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis is shaking the foundation of the nation’s public health system, warns the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). By highlighting SA’s Healthcare Austerity Crisis, the CMSA cautioned that deepening budget cuts by provincial health departments are dismantling the pipeline that produces medical specialists. The organisation says current austerity measures not only threaten the long‑term…
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Treasury Threatens Health Departments with Takeover
The National Treasury is poised to take drastic action against four provincial health departments, threatening a national takeover following reports of gross financial mismanagement and collapsing service delivery. Treasury will demand fiscal accountability from Health MECs in four key provinces. This forthcoming ultimatum forces KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Gauteng, and the Northern Cape to provide immediate recovery plans or yield…
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Medical Scheme Increases Amidst Regulatory Concerns
For millions of South Africans grappling with the rising cost of living, the announcement that medical scheme contribution increases for 2026 will largely remain within single digits offers a welcome reprieve. However, industry experts warn that these restrained figures mask a precarious financial reality. 2026 Medical Scheme Contribution Increases: Top 5 Open Schemes Medical SchemeWeighted Average IncreaseEffective DateKey NotesBestmed6.8%1 January…
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HIV Treatment Retention: South Africa’s Plan for 1.1m Patients
South Africa’s globally acclaimed response to the HIV epidemic has hit a critical “stubborn and painful” hurdle. While the nation has made massive strides in diagnosis and viral suppression, Deputy President Paul Mashatile has warned that HIV treatment retention is now the primary threat to the country’s healthcare sustainability. The Department of Health reports that 1.1 million patients stopped attending…
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Medical Scheme Tax Credits: Treasury Resists Reallocation for NHI
A significant policy rift has emerged within the South African government over funding for the National Health Insurance (NHI). This debate concerns the future of medical scheme tax credits. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NHI Act into law in May 2024, yet Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana remains reluctant to implement the funding mechanisms required by the law. In a recent…
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UK Covid-19 Inquiry Report Highlights Lockdown Failures
A damning new report from the UK public inquiry concludes that implementing the first national lockdown just one week earlier would have prevented approximately 23,000 deaths in England. The findings paint a scathing picture of the government’s initial response, citing a “failure to appreciate the level of risk” and a “toxic” internal culture. Baroness Heather Hallett, the retired senior judge…
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Diabetes Crisis: A Public Health Emergency in South Africa
As the diabetes crisis intensifies, civil society organisations are calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare the disease a public health emergency. They are demanding urgent government intervention and dedicated resources to combat the disease’s devastating impact. The unified demand was presented this week at the Diabetes Summit. Here, 350 stakeholders, including academics, civil society groups, industry representatives, and government…
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US Drug Prices Under Trump’s New Pharma Deals
Americans spend more on prescription drugs than any other nation. This fact is driven not just by volume but by staggering costs. Unlike in Europe, the US government has historically refrained from directly intervening in price setting. While modest changes under then-President Joe Biden offered some relief for seniors, his successor, Donald Trump, has vowed to aggressively slash US drug…