NHI too big for Health Minister – Motsoaledi
Legalbrief Today
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the National Health Insurance (NHI) may be referred to as ‘Ramaphosa-care’, as the President is now in charge of the Bill which will see government rolling out universal healthcare across the country. According to a TimesLIVE report, Motsoaledi said yesterday NHI was too big an issue to be dealt with alone by the Minister of Health. He said he had since asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to take over the planning and the roll-out of the NHI because that would be the only way equal, universal healthcare in SA would be a reality. Since then, a war-room had been established in the Presidency to finalise the Bill for Parliament to approve. ‘In the US, universal health coverage was called Obamacare. Why? Because the team was in President Obama’s office,’ Motsoaledi said. He said some things that were required for NHI could only be done by the President, because the Minister of Health could not instruct the Minister of Finance for budget allocations nor instruct the Minister of Home Affairs to change certain legislation. Motsoaledi said the war-room, headed by Ramaphosa's health and social issues adviser, Professor Olive Shisana, was an effort to make NHI a reality in the sixth administration. Motsoaledi said part of NHI will see changing of 12 healthcare laws – including the Health Care Act of 2003. He said a big problem in the law was that the Minister did not have the power on who got appointed to critical positions and how money was allocated by provinces. Motsoaledi said the law as it stood only allowed him as a Minister to intervene in provinces when things had gone wrong and said he wanted the law to change so that the Minister could intervene pre-emptively.