Dullah Omar Institute Makes a Submission to Parliament on the NHI Bill
On Friday, 29 November 2019, the Dullah Omar Institute made a submission to the Portfolio Committee on Health on the National Health Insurance Bill. Although the Institute supports the notion of universal health coverage that is aimed at providing South African’s with access to needed health care that is of sufficient quality , our submission highlights concerns about transparency and accountability to members of the public in the governance structures of the NHI Fund.
Given our recent work on the appointments to SOE boards, we focus in detail on the aspect of the Bill relating to the appointments of the NHI Board, drawing lessons from the SOE experience.
In our submission, we consider three strategies for improving the governance of the NHI Fund, the first relates to dispersing the powers for appointment and oversight, the second to increased transparency to the public, and the third relates to greater mechanisms for public engagement in governance of the the NHI Fund.
For further enquiries contact: Motlatsi Komote-072 872 2200 or Vivienne Mentor-Lalu-082 494 0788.