PLANS for the National Health Insurance fund have yet to be unveiled, but emotions are already running high. The Democratic Alliance is strongly opposed to the scheme, while health workers' union Nehawu has come out in strong support of it. DA leader Helen Zille said the NHI, which according to a leaked ANC document will afford health coverage for rich and poor, was "not pro-poor", as it would not improve the quality of healthcare and require a lot of additional funding from cash-strapped consumers. She said it would set out to ruin the parts of the health system that work, and ruin the economy at a time when SA was recovering from a recession. She also said it would create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, and hinted that those in favour of the plan were supporting it just to get positions. Zille said she hoped that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi would, with their expertise, realise that the plan would not work when they took a second look at it. According to reports the NHI will cost R100 billion a year, a 40 percent increase in the health budget and a nine percent increase in the tax burdens of households. Medical aid schemes have already criticised the plan as unworkable and critics have expressed fears the move could result in more doctors leaving the country, but the ANC and its alliance partners have defended the plan. The DA suggested that the government should instead review the qualifications and experience of hospital managers to establish whether they were suitably qualified. The party also suggested improving quality control measures at state hospitals, and more co-operation with the private sector through public-private partnerships. DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip vowed that the party would push for public participation if the bill establishing the fund were to be reintroduced in Parliament. According to the leaked document, all citizens would contribute to the NHI in amounts based on their earnings. Unemployed people and those earning low wages would be exempt and their contributions would be subsidised by the state, while tax breaks for those on medical aid plans would be removed. An NHI authority, with its own chief executive officer and reporting to the Health Ministry, would be created. Nehawu said yesterday that the fund would address the inequalities in accessing healthcare between rich and poor. The union said it was disappointed that the initiative had been criticised before the policy paper was launched. The SA Communist Party this week vowed to step up its campaign in favour of the fund.

Carien du Plessis: The Star, 11 June 2009