BUSINESS Leadership South Africa (BLSA) wants a meeting with the Minister of Health as it seeks to contribute to the policy that will pave the way for the national health insurance (NHI) legislation, according to Mark Cutifani, the chief executive of gold mining firm AngloGold Ashanti. He said last week that the NHI legislation was one of four key laws on energy and healthcare that the lobby group, which represents top 80 companies, expected to directly affect big business. The organisation would put out a position paper on the NHI as soon as it had concluded consultations with the Minister and other roleplayers in the healthcare industry. As a guest speaker at the Hospital Association of SA conference, he said business agreed that the health system had to be reviewed. Cutifani said that where there were concerns with the NHI was if it were implemented as a narrow policy perspective, adding that there were other healthcare issues like prevention, clean water, good sanitation and service delivery. He said South Africa was unique and it had to find solutions that were suitable for its profile and that would match its income levels. He concluded by saying that South Africa did have a system that worked, but the question was how to leverage it to change the outcomes for average South Africans. Fidel Hadebe, the spokesman for the Department of Health, said any engagement with any interested party on the NHI would be welcome as it was an open process.

Slindile Khanyile: Business Report, 3 May 2010