Deputy Minister Parks Tau reiterated the government’s stance that medical aid tax breaks will be forfeited to fund the proposed universal health care plan
The party also wants lower personal and company taxes and a fiscal commission to oversee public spending
A proposed R6.9 billion is to be allocated over the next three years to prepare for the rollout of the system across the country
Unregulated tariffs and the lack of low-cost benefit schemes drive up the price of medical aid premiums, causing patients to feel the pain
In this monthly series, the M&G investigates how South Africa’s fiscal policy has been shaped. The second instalment considers the health budget and why, despite growing to R254 billion a year, the health system is ailing
The proposed National Health Insurance fund will work in a similar way as private medical schemes do now, but there will also be differences
Mining windfall helped SA’s financial position, but lower revenues and additional spending will delay the end of fiscal consolidation
These two positions will oversee user and service provider management and healthcare benefits and provider payment design
Reporters have an all too familiar relationship with crisis. But our desire to get by must not stop us from seeking out change
People who rely on public health facilities say the scheme is just way for the government to avoid dealing with the hard problems
A scheme that makes for a better health system will also buoy the economy, but it is hard to say whether the NHI will get us there
Trust in the government’s ability to deliver has worn thin, but we can’t allow it to give way to intermediaries with little regard for the public’s best interests
AI, collaborative robots, virtual reality and other new tech can lead to better healthcare.
In the more impoverished and remote areas, healthcare is either unavailable or too far away, leaving a sizeable portion of South Africans without the resources to travel to existing facilities.
People’s lives changed when a nonprofit organisation and the provincial government teamed up to bring care closer to home
There has been an unprecedented structural shift in disease patterns, which has highlighted unequal access to healthcare
When South Africa introduced self-tests for HIV, far more people knew their status and were put on treatment. The same could happen for cervical cancer
Specialist doctors at many state facilities aren’t showing up to work despite earning millions a year in taxpayer money. The consequences for patient health can be devastating but not everyone agrees on the solutions
How will a middle-income country like South Africa be able to implement a system that some of the wealthiest countries have tried in vain to make succeed?
The data from 440 000 Covid-19 patients show that black people in South Africa were far more likely to die than their white counterparts
The unit will attempt to recover millions in alleged inducements that flowed to his wife, son and daughter-in-law for his approval of the Digital Vibes contracts
Vaccine hesitancy, corruption, and conspiracy theories and disinformation slow down uptake of Covid-19 vaccines
The president said the former health minister had steered the country around the HIV crisis and now the Covid-19 pandemic, and now a Special Investigating Unit report has implicated Mkhize of wrongdoing regarding the Digital Vibes contract
The Special Investigating Unit says Mkhize’s denials that his family benefited were ‘untrue’
Digital Vibes company, controlled by the health minister’s ‘comrade’, was favoured over firms that tendered at about half the price
MPs from opposition parties agree that the sub judice reason for the health minister not appearing before the committee is not valid
A person who has himself been accused of corruption — more than once — is not the right person to steer the ship of national health insurance for South Africans
The department of health will ask for the immediate recovery of all irregular payments made to Digital Vibes
Medical aid is becoming more of a luxury for many South Africans, and it’s not about to get any better
In the absence of action from the health department, South Africa’s community health workers are once again having to fight for their rights, with a nationwide strike planned from 9 November.
Having access to care is not a promise of health
South Africa is working towards establishing a publicly-funded universal health service and now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, is the time to implement it