President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa announced on Thursday that he intended to formally sign a National Health Insurance (NHI) bill into law, which seeks to give all South Africans access to health coverage, though he did not specify the enforcement details.
After being passed by lawmakers last year, the bill is awaiting Ramaphosa’s approval. It will be implemented gradually at a cost of billions of dollars. In Cape Town, he told reporters, “It is a matter of time,” without giving any other information.
Three decades after the end of white minority rule, the law seeks to provide healthcare to millions of poor citizens through a major overhaul of a two-tier system that still reflects deep racial and social inequalities.
Business organisations are vehemently against it, claiming that it will hurt South Africa’s already precarious economy and result in disinvestment in the healthcare sector.
Early this month, Business for South Africa (B4SA) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) declared that they were not sure of the bill’s “design and implementation,” but were in favour of going towards universal health coverage and asked that it be returned to parliament for revisions.
Voters support the bill as South Africa prepares for a competitive election year, but analysts predict that even after it is signed, significant changes will take time to materialise.
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