Healthcare reform cannot wait while costs keeps rising

While the country continues to debate the future of healthcare reform through National Health Insurance (NHI), millions of South Africans are dealing with a far more immediate reality which is the rising cost of accessing care today

Every year, South Africans feel the impact of rising healthcare costs long before they enter a hospital or visit a doctor. It arrives in the form of higher medical scheme contributions, larger out of pocket payments, and growing uncertainty about whether quality private healthcare will remain affordable for their families in the years ahead.

While the country continues to debate the future of healthcare reform through National Health Insurance (NHI), millions of South Africans are dealing with a far more immediate reality which is the rising cost of accessing care today. This is why reforms aimed at improving affordability and transparency in private healthcare cannot be delayed while broader policy processes unfold.

This month marks one year since public comments closed on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s draft Interim Block Exemption for Tariff Determination in the Healthcare Sector. The draft regulations are designed to establish a formal tariff negotiation framework between medical schemes and healthcare providers to improve pricing transparency, affordability, and sustainability within the private healthcare sector. Yet despite widespread recognition that healthcare pricing reform is urgently needed, there has been little indication of when meaningful implementation will begin.