The government has warned right-wing groups against what it believes is the deliberate misrepresentation of a Constitutional Court judgment concerning sections of the National Health Act, which some have labelled a victory against the National Health Insurance (NHI).
The apex court ruled on Monday that sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act 61 of 2003 are inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid because they are irrational and unjustifiably limit the right to choose a trade, occupation or profession freely. The sections have consequently been severed from the Act.
The case was brought by, among others, Solidarity, the Alliance of South African Independent Practitioners Associations, the South African Private Practitioners Forum and the Hospital Association of South Africa. The groups acted under the banner of Solidarity, an informal coalition of Afrikaans pressure groups that includes AfriForum, with the Health Minister and the President of South Africa cited as respondents.
The group, through Anton van der Bijl, described the ruling as a blow to the yet-to-be-implemented NHI.
“One of the NHI’s central pillars collapsed today. The Certificate of Need was far more than merely an administrative instrument. It was an instrument of centralisation and state control.
“The government wanted to move health practitioners around like pawns on a chessboard to cover up its own failures. Today, the court said that South Africans are not state property and professionals are not pawns of the government,” said Van der Bijl in a statement that was almost immediately refuted by the Health Department.
The department, in a statement released by spokesperson Foster Mohale, said the sections declared unconstitutional had never been implemented and are unrelated to the NHI.
“While noting this judgment, it is also important to clarify that this is not a judgment relating to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act. The sections in question were passed by Parliament 23 years ago and have never been brought into effect. Therefore, there is no direct impact of the judgment on the NHI, despite attempts by some within the political and private health sectors to mislead the public. No section of the NHI has been declared unconstitutional,” said Mohale.
He added that implementation of the NHI will proceed as planned.
“The department will continue with all necessary health system-strengthening preparations for the NHI as the mechanism for South Africa to realise universal healthcare coverage,” he said.