The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) proposed that government allows those who want medical cover over and above the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme to continue to make private medical aid contributions.
"It's a matter of choice," said chairperson of the BHF's Regulatory Policy Committee Clarence Mini, comparing the use of top-op cover to pupils attending private schools.
This was in response to a document published on the ANC's website last week, which outlined how the NHI may fun
ction. The document stated all contributions will be pooled in a single fund. This will be administered by government and used to pay for all services by private and public healthcare providers. It also said the medical schemes tax subsidy will be removed and that both employers and employees will make compulsory contributions.
The BHF said a national health system will eliminate medical schemes' problems relating to different tariffs charged by healthcare providers. It makes sense on paper, but most private providers scoff at the suggestion that the public sector can be sufficiently upgraded to cater for this new market.
Netcare executive director Norman Weltman says the public hospital sector lacks the surplus bed capacity and clinical staff to accommodate an increase in patients. Then there's Aids, which is manifest mostly in the emerging market and is swamping general wards.
The medical aid industry body, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), says that before the plan is adopted there should be a comprehensive study into the effect diseases such as HIV/Aids, TB and malaria will have on the funding environment, both private and public.
Given the regulatory authority's poor record of accomplishment in using regulatory reform to try to control medical inflation, most private providers are sceptical that the proposed changes will actually succeed in bringing down the cost of medical aid. What is your view?
"It's a matter of choice," said chairperson of the BHF's Regulatory Policy Committee Clarence Mini, comparing the use of top-op cover to pupils attending private schools.
This was in response to a document published on the ANC's website last week, which outlined how the NHI may fun
ction. The document stated all contributions will be pooled in a single fund. This will be administered by government and used to pay for all services by private and public healthcare providers. It also said the medical schemes tax subsidy will be removed and that both employers and employees will make compulsory contributions.The BHF said a national health system will eliminate medical schemes' problems relating to different tariffs charged by healthcare providers. It makes sense on paper, but most private providers scoff at the suggestion that the public sector can be sufficiently upgraded to cater for this new market.
Netcare executive director Norman Weltman says the public hospital sector lacks the surplus bed capacity and clinical staff to accommodate an increase in patients. Then there's Aids, which is manifest mostly in the emerging market and is swamping general wards.
The medical aid industry body, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), says that before the plan is adopted there should be a comprehensive study into the effect diseases such as HIV/Aids, TB and malaria will have on the funding environment, both private and public.
Given the regulatory authority's poor record of accomplishment in using regulatory reform to try to control medical inflation, most private providers are sceptical that the proposed changes will actually succeed in bringing down the cost of medical aid. What is your view?
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