Value-based care could help South Africa improve private healthcare affordability before National Health Insurance (NHI) disputes are resolved, an industry commentary argues. The commentary urges medical schemes, funders and providers to redesign payment arrangements within existing frameworks. It contends that pooling funds under NHI will not control costs unless purchasing incentives also change. A larger purchaser paying for each service…
Tag: Healthcare Funding
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NHI implementation: Rights, Funding and Legal Scrutiny
NHI implementation must advance equitable healthcare access despite legal delays. However, constitutional obligations and the merits of a particular funding model remain separate questions. Section 27 guarantees access to healthcare services. It requires reasonable legislative and other measures, within available resources, to progressively realise that right. It does not prescribe NHI as the required financing mechanism. In February 2026, the…
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Discovery’s headline earnings set to rise
Discovery expects its headline earnings to increase by 31% to 36% for the year to end-June, driven by growth in its South African operations and Vitality business. The financial services group said it delivered robust results during the year. The group expects its normalised operating profit to increase by 15% to 20%. The group forecasts 13% to 18% growth for…
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Cancer Heat Therapy: R57m Public Health Rollout
A R57 million funding drive could determine whether a South African cancer treatment is adopted in the public healthcare system. Cancer heat therapy has been shown to improve survival and reduce long-term costs. Dr Carrie Minnaar, a South African researcher specialising in oncologic hyperthermia, is leading plans to install six modulated electro-hyperthermia (mEHT) devices at three public hospitals over the…
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Ambulance Tariff Negotiations Seek Competition Exemption
South Africa’s private ambulance operators have applied for permission to negotiate tariffs and payment structures collectively with medical aid schemes. The South African Private Ambulance & Emergency Services Association submitted the exemption application to the Competition Commission. Sapaesa represents more than 120 private emergency medical service providers. Its members include ER24 and several smaller independent ambulance businesses. Collective tariff negotiations…
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Discovery Health Membership Growth and Challenges Ahead
Discovery Health Medical Scheme must recruit between 280,000 and 290,000 new members each year to maintain its current membership base. Discovery Health CEO Dr Ron Whelan disclosed the target at the scheme’s recent annual general meeting. He said the high recruitment requirement was necessary because of significant annual membership churn. DHMS is South Africa’s largest open medical scheme. At the…
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Dis-Chem Health Hub Drives Integrated Primary Care
Dis-Chem is stepping up its shift from pharmacy-led retail to wider healthcare delivery. The group says it wants to tackle South Africa’s “fragmented” healthcare system. Consumers often face rising costs. They also face long waiting times. Services can feel disconnected. The retailer’s answer is a new Dis-Chem Health Hub model. It brings multiple services into one setting. The pilot format…
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NHI Funding: Court Hears Claims Of Blind NHI Approval
The National Health Insurance (NHI) programme faced renewed legal pressure yesterday. Constitutional Court justices questioned whether the public had enough information to participate meaningfully in the law-making process. At the centre of the dispute is NHI Funding Transparency. Debate continues over whether Parliament should have provided clearer cost and funding details before passing the bill. The NHI Act aims to…
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Healthcare Funding Hiatus Forces A Harder NHI Conversation
South Africa’s healthcare debate is changing. With the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act stuck in legal processes and no clear healthcare funding pathway emerging from the 2026 Budget, the focus is moving from big promises to a tougher, present-day question: how do we fund care now, and what trade-offs will the system accept? That shift puts medical schemes back at…
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Medical Aid Forensic Audits: UP Study Flags Physiotherapist Harm
Physiotherapists say medical aid forensic audits are leaving them “fearful, stigmatised and traumatised”, according to new research from the University of Pretoria (UP). The study suggests that processes meant to protect patients’ money may be causing serious harm to practitioners and destabilising private practices. Lesley Meyer, an extraordinary lecturer in UP’s department of physiotherapy, led a study recently published in…
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NHI Implementation on Hold After Presidential Undertaking
President Cyril Ramaphosa has formally undertaken not to bring any part of South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) Act into operation until the Constitutional Court has ruled on two challenges focused on public participation. The undertaking was conveyed in a letter dated 20 February from the Office of the State Attorney. It states the president “undertakes not to promulgate any…