The intent to enable access to more health for more South Africans is positive. Healthcare is a fundamental right for all. For us to create and implement a national health system to enable this, we must be mindful of the current constraints and ensure that we move forward in an informed and sustainable manner.

The implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) bill in its current format is not sustainable, and we expect the already documented challenges made by numerous stakeholders to become more vocal, particularly around the constitutionality of the bill. Another key consideration is that the South African economy does not have the required funds to support the implementation thereof.

Based on this, our belief remains that the current private and public system should collaborate to better utilise the experience and infrastructure of the private industry to augment the public offering and ensure we don’t lose critical experienced resources from our health economy.

Critically, even though President Ramaphosa is expected to sign the bill, the current status quo remains in effect, as the implementation of the bill will take some time. So, our message to our members and the wider South African community is to continue with your current healthcare arrangements.

As a business, Momentum Health Solutions remains committed to collaborating with all stakeholders across the healthcare sector and will continue to engage with government to establish an effective process that will look to introduce an NHI offering in a way that is fit for our country and its people.