Sunday Times<\/a><\/strong>, Motsoaledi said that the current healthcare system is unfair and unequal for both South Africa’s richest and poorest residents.<\/p>\n“Firstly, in all likelihood it should not increase the cost of private healthcare, I am dead sure about that. The NHI, free education, pensions . . . will always be funded by the state, which comes from the four tiers of tax,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added that it was unfair to place the poor quality of the public health sector solely at his feet, and that a massive reorganisation of the healthcare system is desperately needed.<\/p>\n
“Let me tell you the problem with South Africans on this issue. We have an extraordinarily expensive private health service on the one hand. You believe the minister is a madman to talk about it,” he said.<\/p>\n
“You don\u2019t believe the fees are too high, but it is blackmail what private healthcare charges. It is unregulated and it is robbery.”<\/p>\n
Despite his positivity and commitment to reforming the system, Motsoaledi said that there were still four major worries he had ahead of the NHI’s implementation – including concerns surrounding human resources; financial management; procurement and management of infrastructure; and maintenance of equipment.<\/p>\n
He added that the budget for the NHI has yet to be confirmed, and that initial estimates of R259 billion were a thumb-suck by a local accounting firm.<\/p>\n
“We made a mistake with the figures. I then went for advice to the World Bank and the World Health Organisation and they asked why am I trying to do this, it can\u2019t be quantified by any human being because the costs are so variable.”<\/p>\n
“You cannot balance books against service delivery on human life,” Motsoaledi said.<\/p>\n
He noted that this didn’t mean that the money should be used ‘wrongly’, and that audits still needed to be ‘passed’.<\/p>\n
“But saving money at the expense of human life … we can\u2019t do that any more,” he said. “You saw what happened at Life Esidimeni.”<\/p>\n
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