Profmed survey of members finds low confidence in NHI
While some medical professionals believe private healthcare is far too expensive, they fear the National Health Insurance will worsen healthcare delivery in South Africa.
This is according to a survey conducted by medical aid scheme, Profmed.
The company has released its State of Health Report for 2025.
Profmed says it surveyed around 1 800 of their members and others outside of the scheme but in the medical space.
The group's Craig Comrie says 70 percent of respondents said they were reasonably happy with the quality of healthcare in general in South Africa.
Comrie says they participants were asked about medical aid schemes and private healthcare in South Africa.
" This issue of high costs and the implications that that bring in terms of medical scheme premiums, that was suggested as an area that had to be intervened on. They said if everybody in formal employment was a member of a medical scheme, that could possibly drop the price of medical schemes by as much as 30%. And the other thing was to also regulate prices."
Sixty percent of respondents said they had no confidence at all in the public health system.
" We then ask them, ‘Do you trust that national health [NHI] would improve the systems in South Africa?’ Seventy-five percent of them said absolutely not. The very clear indication is that people want reform, but they want the right reform in South Africa."
The National Health Insurance was introduced to achieve universal healthcare for South Africans.
The government says NHI it will provide equal and quality access healthcare services to all.
During the tabling of his budget vote last week, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said preparations for implanting NHI were going ahead.
He said the department would be making significant allocations for healthcare infrastructure so that facilities can meet the required standards for NHI.
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