The National Health Insurance (NHI) has been dealt a major legal blow, with the Gauteng High Court ruling that provisions of the National Health Act that force doctors to register for a “certificate of need” are unconstitutional.

Trade union Solidarity chief executive, Dirk Hermann, who took the case to court along with groups representing private practitioners, shared parts of the ruling on Wednesday (24 July), where Judge A Millar ruled that sections 36 through to 40 of the National Health Act are invalid “in their entirety”.

The sections relate to the highly contested “Certificate of Need”, which the National Department of Health wants to adopt to exert more control over where doctors and medical professionals can practice in the country.

Legal experts at Werksmans previously explained that the NHA’s provisions for a certification of need would make it that no person may operate an existing health establishment, increase the number of beds in such an establishment or construct or open a new health establishment without being in possession of one of these certificates. ….more