JOHANNESBURG – Former Health Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says parties challenging the National Health Insurance (NHI) want to retain inequality.
Dlamini-Zuma was speaking ahead of an application by the Board of Healthcare Funders in the Constitutional Court challenging the process that led to the adoption of the NHI Act in 2023.
“There is push back from the people who want to retain inequality in this country. It’s from people who are making profit from this inequality. Medical aids make profits from this inequality, that’s why they are pushing back.”
The concept of the NHI was first proposed and officially investigated during Dlamini-Zuma's time as health minister.
She said the NHI was aimed balancing access to universal healthcare.
“We can’t be a democratic country and still have those kinds of inequalities in the access to health. Health is the most important thing. Our hope is that the government wins the case and we can begin with the implementation,” Dlamini-Zuma added.