Cosatu Urges Parliament to Conclude Passage of the Long Delayed National Health Insurance Bill [press release]
The NHI Bill and policy mandate have been adopted by
Government and the NCOP should not place the profit margins of private industry above the needs of society. We need government to speak with one voice as this level of policy uncertainty is not helpful. The ANC needs to exert itself and remind government and the NCOP that the NHI is an ANC policy mandate not some seasonal slogan.
COSATU and the overwhelming majority of workers are in support of an NHI. It is a government policy and market failure that 29 years into democracy most South Africans, in particular the working class, lack access to quality and affordable health care. This is not due to lack of resources but to their blatantly skewed distribution.
Consequently, many workers and their families are infected and dying from easily preventable and manageable diseases. Even workers fortunate enough to have medical aid, battle to afford to pay the ever-increasing medical tariffs. Most workers' medical aids are depleted halfway through the year and are shamefully saddled with unaffordable co-payments. They are often forced to forego necessary but unaffordable treatment. The economy needs a healthy workforce if it is to meet its full potential.
The reality is that
We cannot afford to be a nation that 29 years after 1994 still grapples with the blatantly unequal and racially skewed distribution of resources and access to health care. The right to life and access to health care are inalienable constitutional rights. It is time that all South Africans are afforded these rights. The NCOP must show the necessary fortitude, place the NHI Bill back on its Order Paper and pass it before rising next week.
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