Medical sector opposed to NHI
Some of the strongest opposition yet against the government’s planned National Health Insurance is now coming from the medical sector itself.
A recently released report by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) indicates how deep-seated medical professionals’ distrust of NHI plans is.
First, healthcare workers indicated that they now have far more knowledge about the NHI and, in light of that, their disapproval of the NHI has increased sharply.
Moreover, an overwhelming 99% of the respondents are also deeply concerned about the government’s ability to administer and manage the NHI.
Respondents are deeply concerned about the consequences this has for practising their profession. The report is the product of a fourth comprehensive Solidarity study which measured healthcare workers’ understanding of and attitudes towards NHI.
The 2023 study follows those undertaken in 2021, 2019 and 2018.
According to SRI manager Nicolien Welthagen in a statement on the Politicsweb site, healthcare workers have indicated that their level of understanding and awareness of the NHI have indeed increased sharply.
It rose from 54,4% in the first study in 2018 to 79,4% in the 2023 study.
‘This means there was an increase of 25% of respondents who feel they now have more knowledge about it. What is important is how their perceptions about the NHI changed along with it.’
‘The majority of healthcare workers now have a more negative and sceptical outlook than five years ago.
When it comes to negativity there was an increase of 21% over this period,’ Welthagen said.
Participants in the study came from diverse medical professions and demographic groups. While more than half of them recognise the unaffordability of medical funds for the majority of citizens, they are, for various reasons, concerned about the impact of NHI as a substitute.
* 94% of the respondents believe the successful implementation of the NHI is unlikely.
* Only 3% believe the government has consulted properly with stakeholders about the NHI.
* Only 2,9% believe all citizens will have access to high-quality healthcare under the NHI.
The distrust in the NHI is such that 94% of respondents believe private health practitioners may decide to go and work abroad because of the NHI.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
