DA Uses NCOP Sitting to Pick NHI BIll Apart Citing Major Concerns but Health Minister Phaala Makes Assurances

• The Democratic Alliance has had an opportunity to officially raise concerns about the NHI Bill
• The bill was before the National Council of Provinces after it was approved by the National Assembly last week
• Health Minister Joe Phaala said the bill was meant to ensure SA's most vulnerable groups have access to quality healthcare

CAPE TOWN - The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill has made its way to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), and the Democratic Alliance (DA) used the opportunity to poke holes in the policy.

A week after the National Assembly adopted the bill, parties in the NCOP raised concerns about the contentious NHI on Tuesday, 20 April.

DA politician questions implementation of NHI as SA public healthcare system crumbles

The DA's Delmain Christians listed a plethora of complications that the bill may create if implemented. Chief among them were budgetary constraints, staffing issues and inadequate medical supplies at SA hospitals, EWN reported

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Christians, who represent the North Cape, asked Health Minister Joe Phaahla:

"How will they deal with that, with the implementation of NHI? How will they provide adequate healthcare if the basic infrastructure is not improved in provinces?"

Health Minister Joe Phaala defends NHI in front of NCOP

Phaahla hit back at Christians' line of questioning, claiming that NCOP members should focus on the vulnerable groups that the policy would benefit from instead of focusing on the narrow interests of the privileged.

To allay fears about a hasty implementation, Phaahla assured that the bill would be put to work in stages to keep systems in place, IOL reported.

South Africans disapprove of the NHI Bill

Below are some comments:

@BizGuru4 criticised:

"The ANC's agenda is truly nothing but to steal, lie & destroy. The NHI has nothing to do with "The Best Equal Healthcare" for the people but ANC's evil agenda."

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@misteres7 said:

"No, we just can't see how this will work if you can't fix the current broken state of our health care system. You can't build a new house on a broken home. That's all from my side."

@lynettekoen added:

"You can’t even run the current health system. It's a mess. How are you gonna run a bigger system? Fix the current system, and there will be no need for a new system."

@chrisfvz claimed:

"The truth is that it will be another pot for the ANC to loot."

NHI Bill sparks legal action from Solidarity as concerns about corruption and maladministration heighten

In a related story, Briefly News reported that civil society and opposition parties have rallied against the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill after the ANC used its majority to approve it in the National Assembly.

Trade union Solidarity has vowed to take the government to task over its approval of the NHI Bill by instituting legal action.

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Chief among Solidarity's concerns is that the plan is financially unstable and impossible to implement effectively, TimesLIVE reported.

Source: Briefly News