The passing of the National Health Insurance Bill by Parliament last week is yet another act in a pantomime that government seems intent on performing.It is as if government is intent to stride forward, somehow ignoring that eventually the whole charade will collapse.
For anyone considering a future exposure to the South African health system, whether as a worker in it, an investor in it, or indeed anyone concerned about their future access to healthcare, this is a blow to confidence.about how we could be confronting the healthcare challenges we have as a country.
It appears to rather be about signalling, in which some parts of government seem to think that putting the bill into our law books will be seen positively by an important constituency, and that is enough. The health system will be forced to appear to be implementing it, setting up the required boards and committees, despite the fact that its existing facilities are in urgent need of attention and most of them fail to meet basic standards. This will be destructive to government functioning as scapegoating breaks out amid frustration with delays.
Such a culture has certainly not taken hold, and when assessments are done, they are often perfunctory and meaningless.