The civil rights organisation AfriForum today urgent appealed the public to submit their commentary on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill before 20 September 2018. The Bill was published on 21 June and AfriForum created the website www.jougesondheid.co.za to make it easier for the public to object to the NHI Bill.

Dr Eugene Brink, Strategic Advisor at AfriForum, says that NHI poses many disastrous results. “First, we simply do not know what it will cost or what it should cost. The Bill is probably deliberate in its vagueness because the cost to the tax payer will become frightfully high and because government first wants to establish the fund before sending us the invoice.

“It also aims to destroy the private healthcare industry and medical schemes. We will all be at the mercy of the public health sector’s poor conditions, while government’s burden will simply be increased,” Brink says.

According to Brink, the state should first do some introspection. “Corruption and irregular spending, medical negligence, low morale and affirmative action are characteristics of the current public healthcare system in South Africa. NHI will simply become a larger and much more expensive version of this system if these problems are not addressed first.”

Brink says that these are but some of the reason why the Bill and NHI as idea should be rejected completely. “Therefore, visit our website and follow the short and easy steps to make your voice heard in the interest of your own and your family and country’s health.”