South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday his intention to endorse a National Health Insurance (NHI) bill that aims to ensure universal health coverage for all citizens.
However, he refrained from providing a specific timeline for signing it into law. The bill, already approved by lawmakers last year, awaits Ramaphosa's final approval before being implemented gradually, incurring significant costs totaling billions of dollars.
"There have been those, who've been opposed to the bill and there've been many more, who are in favor of the bill. Now, as president, I have to weigh up all the issues that have been raised by everyone and look at the bill very, very closely. [...] I think in the main, many people have agreed that you should have universal health coverage. [...] The National Health Insurance bill will soon be signed into an act. It is going to happen. It is a matter of time," the president told journalists.
According to the country's parliament, the NHI fund will cover "South Africans of all races, rich or poor and legal long-term residents." One pool of healthcare funding for private and public health care providers will be created. Moreover, the cost of the healthcare system is expected to be reduced.
The NHI fund will receive money from "general taxes; contributions of persons earning above a set amount, and monthly contributions made by the employees to the fund," the parliament explained.
The initiative reportedly was backed by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and Business for South Africa (B4SA). However, they had concerns regarding the bill's "design and implementation," suggesting that it should be returned to parliament for necessary amendments, the report noted.