Calls for drug company nationalisation have been made by the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa). These calls follow plans by Adcock Ingram to retrench more than 240 workers. Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said South Africa’s pharmaceutical sector had lost about 2,500 direct jobs over the past 18 months. He noted that nine local manufacturing plants closed during…
Tag: NHI
-
Concourt Ruling Strips Government Of Private Sector Controls
South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) project has suffered a significant legal setback. The recent ConCourt Ruling confirmed that key provisions in the National Health Act are unconstitutional and invalid. The unanimous judgment was written by Justice Kate Savage. It upheld a high court order declaring sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act inconsistent with the Constitution. These…
-
Medical Aid Schemes Face Crisis As Young Members Exit
The intense debate around National Health Insurance (NHI) often dominates the news in South Africa. This focus has obscured a severe crisis within the private healthcare sector. The traditional funding model is under immense pressure. Private healthcare relies heavily on cross-subsidisation. Younger, healthier members pay premiums that fund the care of older, sicker individuals. This system only functions when enough…
-
Certificate Of Need Ruling: ConCourt Strikes Down DoH Powers
South Africa’s certificate of need ruling has landed a major setback for government plans to direct where health services can operate. The Constitutional Court has declared the “certificate of need” provisions in the National Health Act unconstitutional. The decision ends a long legal fight that has run for more than two decades. The unanimous ruling confirms a 2024 Pretoria High…
-
NHI Act Court Challenge: Fairness of Public Hearings
South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) legislation faced renewed scrutiny in the Constitutional Court yesterday, with arguments centred on whether Parliament’s public participation process met constitutional standards. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde brought the case, claiming the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) rushed key hearings in Gauteng and the Western Cape, making “meaningful engagement” impossible. The challenge lands at a…
-
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…
-
NHI Financial Architecture Shapes Medtech Investment
South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) project is being treated as a political fight. Yet, for many healthcare operators and investors, it looks like something else. It looks like a financing build that was announced before the balance sheet was finalised. The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hear major challenges to the NHI Act from 5 to 7 May 2026.…
-
Parliament’s NHI Process: ConCourt Tests Public Input On NHI
South Africa’s highest court will this week scrutinise Parliament’s NHI Process in two challenges that could reshape the National Health Insurance (NHI) rollout. The Constitutional Court has set aside three days, from 5 to 7 May 2026, to hear applications brought by the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the Western Cape government. The cases do not yet test the…
-
NHI Constitutional Court Challenge: Key Issues Unpacked
South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) project is heading into a critical legal test. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to argue before the Constitutional Court that the NHI is a necessary step to address deep inequality in access to healthcare inherited from apartheid. The case focuses on whether Parliament followed a constitutionally sound public participation process when passing the NHI…
-
NHI Design Should Take Lessons From China’s Layered Model
Public debates often simplify complex issues. The discussion surrounding South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) provides a prime example. While roleplayers often ask the public to support or oppose the plan, this binary framing misses the reform’s fundamental point. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is not the point of contention. South Africa has already settled that goal. The Constitution grounds this…
-
NHI Implementation: Understanding the Reform Facts
Recent scepticism regarding National Health Insurance (NHI) has sparked intense debate across the business sector. With NHI Implementation underway, much of this criticism relies on overhyped concerns rather than policy realities. The healthcare industry needs to ground these discussions in fact and context. NHI is not a sudden shift. It is the result of over a decade of policy development…
-
National Health Insurance: Minister Meets Medical Association
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has begun fresh engagement with one of his fiercest critics on the National Health Insurance (NHI). He met with the South African Medical Association (Sama) recently to discuss what he called “things we have in common”, despite Sama being among the organisations challenging the National Health Insurance Act in court. The NHI aims to establish a…