SAMA ready to take NHI battle to courts
The South African Medical Association has
threatened to take legal action against the government if the contentious
National Health Insurance Bill is signed into law.
SAMA chairperson Mvuyisi Mzukwa says will instruct their legal department to follow up on this after the bill has been signed.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his State of the Nation Address that the document was waiting for his signature.
The proposed NHI legislation seeks to provide free health coverage in both public and private facilities for all South Africans.
However stakeholders have raised a raft of concerns and called for clarity on financing and where private healthcare and medical schemes would fit into the picture.
Mzukwa says the president still has a chance to send the bill back to parliament.
READ: NHI won’t be implemented overnight: Phaahla
Speaking during a briefing on Wednesday, he said South Africa's healthcare system isn't ready to support the NHI.
"We know that we can't stop the president from signing after assessing the bill. We will use legal resources to look at it but we are hoping the president is going to send the bill back and point out the issues that many stakeholders pointed out."
