Editorial from CMS News - March 2013
The Department of Health is proposing ways to fundamentally change the workings of the country’s entire health system, public and private. The policy proposal is captured in a Green Paper on the so-called National Health Insurance, more commonly known as the NHI, which was
published for public comment in August 2011.
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has always supported, and continues to support, the Department’s efforts to strategically review South Africa’s healthcare landscape; there is no doubt that change is needed. The CMS submitted its comments on the NHI policy paper in January 2012; the document is available on its website (www.medicalschemes.com).
In exploring a concept as large and complex as NHI, the CMS decided to give external experts a chance to share their views on the proposed health reforms, and approached a wide variety of stakeholders, including the Department, to draft short articles for this edition of CMS News. The result is what you hold in your hands: a comprehensive collection of diverse views on what NHI is understood to be and how it could
change the face of our country.
