The President of South Africa Signs a Contentious Healthcare Bill Into Law

Two weeks before a hotly contested general election, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a contentious National Health Insurance bill into law on Wednesday.

In the vote, it is widely anticipated that his ruling African National Congress will lose its majority in parliament for the first time since apartheid ended. The new law seeks to give all South Africans access to high-quality, universal health care, but its execution has been greeted with resistance and skepticism. Among the worries is that the nation’s inability to pay for essential services due to budget constraints and pervasive corruption will make it difficult for it to be implemented.

Presently, sixteen percent of South Africans have access to private healthcare through medical aid plans, while eighty percent rely on the overburdened state-run public health services.

Long wait times and medication shortages are common in public health facilities, and there are questions about the law’s affordability and potential tax increases to pay for it. Opposition parties have accused Ramaphosa of using the bill’s enactment as a ruse to win over crucial support for his party.

In addition, it is facing legal challenges from a wide range of stakeholders, including political parties and medical associations.