Private health costs must be reduced

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi wants affordable health care for everyone. Image: GCIS

"Two things are needed to make the NHI flourish - the public health care system must work and pricing in private health must be tamed," he said.

However, he said the private health sector was resisting this change.

"Court cases are being prepared. I'm aware of people who follow me to meetings and take notes to prepare a court case. They want to make people believe that health care is expensive," he said.

Motsoaledi said he could not be neutral on the matter. "I want health care to be affordable for everyone," he said, adding that quality standards needed to be high and consistent.

"Monitoring and evaluation systems are being developed to help ensure the NHI could materialise and realised this ideal," he said.

The NHI pilot project was started in April last year in 11 districts in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Free State.

The scheme would be phased in across the country over the next 14 years.

Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge