NHI litigants have slammed a bid by the Health Ministry to consolidate five separate legal challenges to the National Health Insurance Act and to put them on hold – pending the outcome of a Constitutional Court case – accusing it of deliberately delaying matters.
The Ministry says its proposal is a “pragmatic solution” to the many court cases challenging the Act, but doctors’ and medical aid organisations argue that it’s another stalling tactic aimed at pausing their litigation, reports the Sunday Times.
The Act faces six separate legal challenges from Solidarity, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), the Health Funders Association (HFA), the Hospital Association of SA (Hasa), the SA Medical Association (SAMA) and SA Private Practitioners Forum (SAPPF).
And now the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has entered the fray, applying to join the case brought by SAMA, marking the first major representative of the public sector to oppose the Act. …..more
