Parks Tau on Wednesday night dismissed criticism of the proposed R200 billion National Health Insurance (NHI) as “resistance” by private healthcare users, who he said were effectively subsidised by the state.  Tau made the comments while representing the ANC at a national election debate hosted by the Mail & Guardian and the University of Fort Hare in a week in which Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed, in a written parliamentary reply, that medical aid tax credits would be revoked to fund the NHI.  Tau, who is the deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affai ..read more

Sicelo Masangwana closes his office door in Somkele, a settlement of about 6 000 people near Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.  He walks the 10 or so steps towards the foyer of the building where a room full of people aged 20 await him, wipes across his forehead and takes a deep breath.  “It’s going to be a long day,” he smiles.  Outside, children are playing football barefoot in the dusty street that leads into the village from the tarred highway. Every now and again people pop in and out of their homes while doing their daily chores, as they usually do by mid-morning on we ..read more

A recent report by the University of Cape Town has found that the older persons’ grant is not sufficient for beneficiaries to make ends meet.   Elena Moore and other researchers from the Family Caregiving programme, which  focuses on the care of older people in southern Africa, interviewed 30 families in rural KwaZulu-Natal and 50 in the Western Cape to find out how pensioner-headed households make ends meet on their grant. About 3.9 million people in South Africa are beneficiaries of the grant, which is currently at R2 080 per person a month. But pensioners say the amount is in ..read more

A recent report by the University of Cape Town has found that the older persons’ grant is not sufficient for beneficiaries to make ends meet.   Elena Moore and other researchers from the Family Caregiving programme, which  focuses on the care of older people in southern Africa, interviewed 30 families in rural KwaZulu-Natal and 50 in the Western Cape to find out how pensioner-headed households make ends meet on their grant. About 3.9 million people in South Africa are beneficiaries of the grant, which is currently at R2 080 per person a month. But pensioners say the amount is i ..read more

A huge setback for technology entrepreneur Neo Hutiri, who contracted tuberculosis after quitting his corporate job, turned out to be the catalyst that resulted in his global award-winning business in the health sector. Hutiri, an electrical engineer, is the founder of Pelebox, which scooped the Royal Academy of Engineering’s special medal to mark 10 years of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation earlier this month. His business concept was shortlisted among 12 innovations from six countries that had participated in the programme over the past decade.  He is also one of five entrep ..read more

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter. Unemployed doctors aren’t the health department’s only problem; those who do work in state clinics and hospitals are heavily underpaid, says the South African Medical Association (Sama). Yet, South African government doctors earn up to three times more in a month than what some make in a year in other middle-income countries in Africa, such as Kenya and Nigeria.  On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana allocated just over R15 billion to the health department to help it deal with it ..read more

The service provider, LNG, has been ordered to pay back the profit earned from the R113.2 million contract This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member. Register Registration enables: - M&G newsletters access - notifications - the best possible experience Already registered? Login here Want to subscribe and get even more benefits ..read more

Clumsy law-making on healthcare and the failure to correct it have resulted in medical schemes carrying an almost unlimited liability for prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), while nearly 10  million people are being denied low-cost benefits for primary healthcare. Unregulated consultant tariffs and the reluctance of the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) — the government’s chief proxy — to approve low-cost benefits schemes are driving medical inflation and sending medical aid premiums soaring, according to Rajesh Patel, the head of health systems strengthening at the Board of Healthcare Funder ..read more

Well under the radar of any media, the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) lead clinical researcher in the Eastern Cape, and extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria, Remco Peters, is making a slow but profound difference to local health systems. While adapting national policies to local conditions to render them more effective and creating local ownership and relevance, the FPD research unit has a single mantra: improve patient outcomes and strengthen and support quality healthcare delivery.  This is achieved through strong partnership with the local department of ..read more

The medical negligence claims of close to R900 million paid out in only one province in a recent financial year would have been enough to employ the country’s 694 unemployed doctors, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced on Monday during a press conference. Although Phaahla didn’t name the province, a 2023 report from the auditor general shows that in 2021, the Eastern Cape paid out almost R867 million in claims, while the salary bill for 694 newly qualified doctors (in 2023) would have been about R838 million.  But Phaahla did admit: “It is a paradox. On the one hand, we’re dealing wit ..read more