Discovery Health Medical Scheme says it is ‘participating in the preparation of potential litigation’ against the SA National Health Insurance (NHI) Scheme with the Health Funders Association (HFA).

Principal officer Charlotte Mbewu said the company is ‘closely monitoring the NHI’ and its impact on its members.

‘We remain concerned that, in its present form, the NHI Act is unworkable without private sector collaboration and involvement and will not lead to the desired improvements in healthcare for all South Africans,’ she said.

BusinessTech reports that Mbewu said Discovery has proposed using a multiple-funder model for healthcare in SA to reduce risk and enable a sustainable healthcare environment in the long term.

Addressing medical aid members’ concerns, however, she said that ‘given the extent of the funding required for NHI and the complex implementation that lies ahead, there will be no impact on medical scheme members for the foreseeable future.’

Mbewu said Discovery is participating in the preparation of potential litigation against NHI that is being led by the HFA, a non-profit association of healthcare funders and administrators.

The association is one of many groups and healthcare representative bodies that are pursuing litigation against the NHI on the basis that it is unimplementable and unconstitutional. Other litigants include trade union Solidarity, the SA Medical Association, the Board of Healthcare Funders, the SA Health Professionals Collaboration and the DA.

Solidarity last month claimed victory against the National Health Act, where the certificate of need was declared invalid.

The union said this ruling would serve as a basis to challenge similar aspects of the NHI in court.

As previously reported, legislation that would require doctors and health practitioners to obtain a ‘certificate of need’ before being allowed to practise in a particular area – a cornerstone of the proposed NHI – was last month declared unconstitutional by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria).

Solidarity’s CEO Dr Dirk Hermann said the judgment is a major blow to the total NHI idea, as the principle of central management is a core pillar of the NHI Act itself.

While this case targeted relevant sections of the National Health Act, he said Solidarity would also fight the National Health Insurance Act in court and specifically provisions that allow for the centralisation of funds for healthcare.

Full BusinessTech report