South Africa’s Cabinet has approved the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill for publication in the Government Gazette, for public comment. Business Day quotes Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane as saying that the Bill aimed to align the National Health Insurance (NHI) white paper and the draft NHI Fund Bill.
"The Bill, among, others seeks to improve the regulation of the medical schemes industry and to also align the regulatory framework to the changes that have taken place over the past decade in the sector. This Bill will also ensure that beneficiaries are better protected and promotes better access to private health funding."
Mokonyane said the Cabinet had also approved the State Liability Amendment Bill. It provides for the settlement structure of claims against the state that result from the wrongful medical treatment of persons by servants of the state.
"This will provide for a reduced impact of lump-sum payments on the budgets of public hospitals. These amendments will increase the financial resources available to provincial hospitals to provide health care services," the minister said is quoted in the report as saying.
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/health/2018-05-24-contentious-bill-on-medical-schemes-approved-by-cabinet/"]Business Day report[/link]