NHI White Paper proposals unaffordable‚ says DA

13 December 2015 - 14:00 By TMG Digital

The proposals contained in the White Paper on the government’s proposed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHI) are simply unaffordable‚ the Democratic Alliance says. DA spokesman on health matters Dr Wilmot James said on Sunday that the party’s initial analysis of the proposals‚ most if not all of which were not new and had been circulating about for two decades now‚ presented some intractable problems that must be solved for the initiative to have any credibility.He said the NHI would require a “monumental amount” of money to run and would be the second largest - after nuclear energy - fiscal risk the nation faced.“According to the White Paper an additional R71.9 billion taken at 2010 prices will be required by 2025/2026. To fund it will require additional taxes under circumstances where citizens are groaning under the strain of low growth‚ unstoppable large-scale plundering of state resources and assets‚ a growing and unsustainable debt to GDP ratio and spineless fiscal management we expect in the aftermath of Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s sacking‚ as we hover perilously above junk status ratings.”Moreover‚ the scheme centralised decision-making power in structures and individuals who were remote from the day-to-day practical delivery of health services.“A highly centralised version of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS)‚ but without the infrastructure‚ human resource depth to match‚ the NHI will be an entity that will both collect and distribute vast sums of money‚ creating opportunities for corruption and poor governance as is repeatedly demonstrated inability to run state-owned enterprises such as SAA shows‚” James asserted.He added that by potentially forcing the amalgamation existing medical aid schemes (where the members of medical aid schemes did not agree to do so)‚ appointing pliant trustees who owed their allegiance to the state into positions where they were able to control medical scheme monies‚ increasing the percentage of funds that must be kept in reserve by schemes‚ prohibiting some state services from using private medical care and introducing a model that removed the tax breaks for contributions‚ would give the Health Minister extraordinary powers and create unprecedented opportunity for plundering.“To make the NHI work will require more hospitals‚ clinics‚ medical doctors‚ nurses‚ health professionals and related services which we do not have and cannot get quickly.“Presently private medical care caters for millions of members and their dependents and government will be tempted to simply expropriate the infrastructure and skills to cope with the additional load and public outcry if the expectations of the public go predictably unmet. In the world of health it is one thing to build infrastructure. It is quite another to create and plan an adequate pipeline of doctors‚ nurses and other health professionals. “Failure to find rational‚ sensible‚ practical‚ responsible and progressive solutions to the complex problems associated with what is a breathtaking‚ high-handed and dangerous effort to socially re-engineer our dysfunctional health system‚ could easily compromise rather than enhance the access citizens have to healthcare in our country‚” James stated. He added: “We will carefully study the White Paper to see whether there are opportunities to redesign its core proposals so that taxpayers money is not wasted on a well-intentioned but poorly thought through scheme. The Democratic Alliance will also put its alternative offer – a cheaper‚ better-run‚ more decentralised‚ friendlier and accessible health care system - on the table. There is no doubt that the system needs changing. Let’s get it right the first time we try.” ..

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