The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill has failed to tackle transformation in the pharmaceutical sector, an association for black-owned pharmaceutical businesses told Parliament, reports Business Day.
The NHI proposes, among other things, a central fund to buy services from accredited public and private sector providers. But it is silent on transformation in the R56.4bn pharmaceutical industry, Black Pharmaceutical Industry Association chairperson Kingsley Tloubatla said.
Black-owned pharmaceutical businesses own less than 1% of the market, and the Association wants the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority to prioritise the review of registration applications from black-owned businesses. It asked the government devise a charter compelling all health department tenders to include a minimum 30% set aside for black-owned businesses, and similar measures in the private sector pharmaceutical trade.
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