Medical aids are a “crime against humanity”: SAHPC president
With half of South Africa’s health professionals catering exclusively to only 17% of the population on medical aid schemes, the entire setup is a crime against humanity and should be abolished.
This is the view of president of the SA Health Professions Council (SAHPC), Dr Kgosi Letlape, who recently spoke to academics and medical professionals at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, according to The Mercury.
Letlape said that private healthcare in its current form cannot exists with government’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, as the privileged few who had access to medical aid – including those in government who are subscribed to it – refuse to engage, saying “hands off my medical aid”.
According to The Mercury, Letlape said that universal healthcare in South Africa is possible, citing the health plan under apartheid which was “one of the best in the world”.
“South African whites had health for all. By 1967 they had a system that could give somebody a heart transplant for no payment. At the point of service, there were no deductibles, the doctor was on a salary and everyone could access health care,” he was quoted saying.
However, with the introduction of the Medical Schemes Act, most medical professionals moved over to the private sector, which only caters to an ‘elite’ 17% of the population.
This in turns means that the vast majority of the South African population are left without quality health care and are unable to realise their constitutional rights. It is a crime against humanity, Letlape said.
South Africa’s medical aid schemes are about to be rocked by massive changes as government pushes its NHI programme.
Read: Two massive medical aid changes coming in 2017 that you need to know about
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