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DA slams passing of NHI bill
Opposition parties are sceptical the newly-passed National Health Insurance Bill will actually work, while the SA Medical Association says it lacks clarity.
JOHANNESBURG - There's been mixed reaction to the passing of the National Health Insurance Bill.
The National Assembly gave the bill a thumbs up despite an outcry by health professionals.
The contentious bill still has to be considered by the National Council of Provinces.
DA MP Michéle Clarke can't see how the NHI is going to be properly implemented.
"There are just so many pitfalls within this NHI bill that the DA can't see that this bill could be implemented at this stage in the country.
"I mean, number one there's been absolutely no feasibility study ever presented to the committee, even after repeated request at every meeting, no financial model has been given to us in terms of this bill," Clarke said.
"National Treasury has not presented to the committee of health how they intend on financing this bill, and in the budget speech of the finance minister, he did not even mention this bill and the consequences thereof.
"And so you know, where are we actually going to find the billions of rands that need to be spent in order to fix our hospital infrastructure number 1 before we can even think of supplying quality healthcare to the citizens of this country?"