The Department of Health invites you to submit written comments on the proposed National Health Insurance Bill (NHI) and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill.

You are invited to object or support the Bills by providing comment below. Should you be unsure, read the live comments, a summary or official documents below the form.   Closing date is midnight 21 September 2018.

20757 active citizens had a say

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LINKS

• 10 points you should know about the medical aid changes
• Daily Maverick article
• fin24 –Everyone will be covered by NHI by 2025 – Ramaphosa

SUMMARY

The National Heath Insurance (NHI) Bill aims to;

• provide mandatory prepayment health care services in the Republic in pursuance of section 27 of the Constitution;
• establish a National Health Insurance Fund and to set out its powers, functions and governance structures; to provide a framework for the active purchasing of health care services by the Fund on behalf of users;
• create mechanisms for the equitable, effective and efficient utilisation of the resources of the Fund to meet the health needs of users;
• preclude or limit undesirable, unethical and unlawful practices in relation to the Fund and its users;
• provide for matters connected herewith.

The Medical Schemes Amendment Bill aims to;

• amend the Medical Schemes Act, 1998; so as to exclude the application of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008, in relation to matters governed by the Medical Schemes Act;
• extend the functions of the Council;
• insert a new section 8A in terms of which the Council may require information from medical schemes concerning the services rendered by the health care providers to beneficiaries;
• insert a new Chapter 3A providing for the creation of a Central Beneficiary Register and the management of that register by the Registrar and to establish risk measurement methodology;
• redetermine the provisions relating to the admission of beneficiaries to a medical scheme and the cancellation of membership;
• insert a new Chapter 5B, in relation to the various requirements applicable in determining the contributions payable to a medical scheme by its members;
• provide for a Health Care Providers Register to be kept and maintained by the Registrar;
• repeal certain sections;
• re- determine the provision dealing with the establishment of the Appeal Board;
• introduce an enhanced system of governance of medical schemes under the new chapter 11A;
• empower the Council to determine broker fees from time to time and define the circumstances in which a medical scheme may receive payment of broker fees due by its members to a broker;
• declare the carrying on of the business of a medical scheme by a person not registered as a medical scheme to be a separate offence,
• prescribe the criminal penalties that may be imposed on persons convicted of that offence;
• provide for matters connected therewith.

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS

Download the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill

Download the National Health Insurance Bill (NHI)

Important to note; this is not a petition but is the first step in an essential Participative Democracy process protected under the SA Constitution. Your comment is immediately sent as a unique email to the designated government representative and must, by law, be individually acknowledged and considered. Had this been a petition, all comments would be seen as a single submission.

By using this service you ensure an accurate record is held by civil society (on our encrypted database) so government cannot fudge facts or figures. This process forms a solid foundation for a legal case should the necessity arise.