READER LETTER | NHI may still need to be topped with medical aid

National Health Insurance Act
National Health Insurance Act
Image: Dorothy Kgosi

It seems the ANC harbours secret ambitions of being returned to power after the next national elections at the conclusion of the five-year term of the GNU with the hope that the GNU would have done the spade work of turning around everything that had brought the country to the brink of collapse under the ANC.

Leading to the voters ditching the ANC in the 2024 elections, resulting in a measly 40% outcome for the ANC, an ambition woefully misplaced, nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, if they continue to make serious blunders under the GNU, their performance in subsequent elections might even be far lower than 40%.

We have just learnt recently, after the president's visit to China with some ministers, that some middle-class Chinese have signed up for medical aid schemes with Discovery Medical Scheme to top up their national health insurance services.

The UK, which has practised universal healthcare coverage since 1948, has many of their citizens who have medical aid schemes in addition to their national health insurance. So, being a member of national health insurance is not enough if you can afford additional health cover. For those who can afford it, for the following reasons: national health insurance does not cover all diseases and surgical procedures.

Besides, waiting times at NHS hospitals are too long, can be weeks or months, resulting in some patients dying while waiting for diagnosis or treatment. So, those with medical aid schemes simply go to private clinics for treatment such as knee and hip replacements.

It is disturbing and disappointing to learn that instead of overhauling every aspect of health that is in dire need of improvement, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and his officials in the department of health are busy discussing the need to scrap medical aids. This is a clear indication that they need to have more information about universal healthcare coverage instead of fixating on its wrongly imagined advantages for the poor, when the country lacks everything that would ensure high-quality patient care for all.

Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand


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