On the proposed amendments to the National Health Act

The Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa welcomes the Amendment Bill and supports in principle the proposal of a collective bargaining process.

It seems that the Minister of Health has taken to heart some of the issues raised by the medical schemes industry at the Healthcare Indaba in September 2007, as the Bill proposes an enforced cap for a tariff on Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs).

Currently there is little transparency in pricing and costs of healthcare services because the NHRPL process is voluntary. The bargaining chamber process will compel transparency as all submissions will be subject to rigorous and robust scrutiny to arrive at fair and reasonable prices for healthcare services.

BHF will prepare a detailed submission on the Bill once it has analysed it in depth.

“The private healthcare industry in this country needs to make a paradigm shift in the way it perceives healthcare. Healthcare should not be seen as a commodity but rather as a social benefit” said Humphrey Zokufa, MD of BHF

For further information, please contact Heidi Kruger, Head of Corporate Communication at BHF, on 011 5370237 or 0829051161