The second meeting of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on National Health Insurance (NHI) was held in Johannesburg on 12 to 13 February to discuss further work relating to the implementation of the National Health Insurance scheme in South Africa.
The Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) was established by the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi last year to advise him on how best to implement the scheme and it is made up of expects in various fields drawn from South Africa and internationally.
The agenda of the meeting focused on substantive issues relating to the workings of the committee and the technical content of the NHI, a report on the economic benefits of NHI and the health information system to support the scheme.
The proposed transitional arrangements from the current arrangement to NHI were presented and discussed. Discussions revolved around the timing of key policy and process steps, completeness of activities and feasibility.
The meeting also developed plans aimed at ensuring that the public will remain informed at all times on the NHI especially once the document has been released for public comment.
The committee discussed in detail the various costing models for the NHI based on the inputs by a number organisations on the matter. The MAC noted with concern the latest report of Econex indicating the potential cost of the scheme. It is at this stage impossible to accurately project the NHI costs outside a policy framework and with work still underway.
While the role of various experts in the field is appreciated, parties are urged to refrain from making unfounded claims about the NHI until the full details of the scheme have been finalised. Cost details of the NHI can only be determined once details on the scheme have been finalised.
The MAC and Ministry of Health look forward to interact.
Issue by: Department of Health
23 February 2010
