Health Minister Aaron Mostoaledi said the government will continue ‘full force ahead’ to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), including infrastructure upgrades to academic hospitals, improvements to patient systems, and price regulations, despite a looming case at the Constitutional Court.
The implementation of some sections of the NHI Act had been halted pending a hearing in the apex court scheduled for May 2026.
Both the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the Western Cape provincial government have challenged the Act, which was signed into law in 2024, arguing that Parliament failed to adequately facilitate public participation during the legislative process.
However, News24 reports that Motsoaledi said the department will forge ahead with preparations for the rollout of aspects of the Act that have not been challenged in court. He was speaking during a meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health.
‘When we paused (the implementation of the Act), we did not say we would stop our preparation. For example, the Minister of Finance announced a budget facility for infrastructure for three academic hospitals for black medical schools. We will build (these facilities) at the hospitals in eThekwini, Tshwane and Mthatha, as we did in Limpopo.’
He said they would implement a ‘South African-owned’ health information system, which helps to trace patients, that was developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research over eight years.
‘We will roll it out – we won’t stop, even with this ruling. There are many other things which need to be done, including regulation in pricing in private healthcare, which is now killing people. People who use private healthcare will know.’
Motsoaledi said the legislation is facing 14 court challenges, and that the department fears these could create an ‘unending cycle’ of court hearings, judgments and appeals which may take 15 to 20 years to resolve.
While the department has previously asked for all cases challenging the Act to be consolidated, Motsoaledi told the committee that Chief Justice Mandisa Maya had issued a directive postponing all court challenges until the Constitutional Court hearing in May.
‘The Chief Justice was worried, justifiably so,’ he said, because if there was a Constitutional Court challenge, it could affect all the other cases.
In both the legislative process brought by the BHF and the Western Cape Government, ‘if they win, there will be no Act, and all the other cases will fall away. If they lose, the cases will still exist’, the minister said.
He said Maya had also questioned the value of hearing the other cases before the Constitutional Court judgment. ‘Our input is that we agree,’ he added.
Motsoaledi said the government had ultimately agreed to halt the implementation of the Act, following concerns raised by parties challenging the legislation that the rollout of NHI provisions would continue.
News24 – Full steam ahead for NHI prep, despite pending court judgment – Motsoaledi
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