What is the status quo of South Africa’s National Health Insurance pilot project?

Abstract

This editorial was motivated by a colleague’s recent criticism of the National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot project that was launched in April 2012. He claimed that patients have not experienced any tangible difference in health service delivery from the pilot NHI districts, compared to that from other non-NHI pilot districts. The selection of 13 pilot NHI districts was based on audit findings, which included the district’s health profile, demographics, income levels and other social factors that impact on health, health delivery performance, management of health institutions and compliance with quality standards.¹ I engaged my colleague by asking him if he knew the objectives of the NHI pilots, to which his response was: “No”. Obviously, from this short interaction I asked myself the question: “How many other colleagues are ill- or uninformed about the objectives of the pilot sites and implementation plan of the NHI?”