Reports on Health Insurance Findings from University of Witwatersrand Provide New Insights (South Africa’s universal health coverage reforms in the…

Reports on Health Insurance Findings from University of Witwatersrand Provide New Insights (South Africa's universal health coverage reforms in the post-apartheid period)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Researchers detail new data in Health Insurance. According to news reporting originating in Johannesburg, South Africa, by NewsRx editors, the research stated, "In 2011, the South African government published a Green Paper outlining proposals for a single-payer National Health Insurance arrangement as a means to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), followed by a White Paper in 2015. This follows over two decades of health reform proposals and reforms aimed at deepening UHC."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Witwatersrand, "The most recent reform departure aims to address pooling and purchasing weaknesses in the health system by internalising both functions within a single scheme. This contrasts with the post-apartheid period from 1994 to 2008 where pooling weaknesses were to be addressed using pooling schemes, in the form of government subsidies and risk-equalisation arrangements, external to the public and private purchasers. This article reviews both reform paths and attempts to reconcile what may appear to be very different approaches. The scale of the more recent set of proposals requires a very long reform path because in the mid-term (the next 25 years) no single scheme will be able to raise sufficient revenue to provide a universal package for the entire population. In the interim, reforms that maintain and improve existing forms of coverage are required. The earlier reform framework (1994-2008) largely addressed this concern while leaving open the final form of the system."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Both reform approaches are therefore compatible: the earlier reforms addressed medium- to long-term coverage concerns, while the more recent define the long-term institutional goal."

For more information on this research see: South Africa's universal health coverage reforms in the post-apartheid period. Health Policy, 2016;120(12):1420-1428. Health Policy can be contacted at: Elsevier Ireland Ltd, Elsevier House, Brookvale Plaza, East Park Shannon, Co, Clare, 00000, Ireland. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Health Policy - www.journals.elsevier.com/health-policy/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.M. van den Heever, University of Witwatersrand, Wits Sch Governance, Chair Social Secur Policy Management & Adm, Johannesburg, South Africa (see also Health Insurance).

Keywords for this news article include: Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, Health Insurance, University of Witwatersrand.

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