BHF: Parliament neglected constitutional obligations when passing NHI Bill for ANC to use as electioneering platform

CAPE TOWN - The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) says Parliament shirked its constitutional obligations when it passed the National Health Insurance Bill in 2023 so that the African National Congress (ANC) could use it as an electioneering platform.

In a new legal challenge against the legislation which has not yet come into effect, the medical scheme body is now challenging Parliament’s public participation processes.

The BHF said Parliament adopted the bill blindly, without crucial information such as the services that will be offered under the act, nor the cost involved.

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After being introduced to Parliament in 2019, the National Health Insurance Bill was passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in December of 2023 and signed into law by the president in May last year, just days before the national elections.

In papers filed with the Constitutional Court, the BHF said that the timing of the bill’s passing led it to believe there was an ulterior purpose to getting it over the line.

It said that the overwhelming inference was that the ANC majority at the time ignored the bill’s shortcomings and failed to consider public concerns because it wanted to use it for its electioneering.

For these reasons, the BHF argues that by passing the bill, Parliament’s actions were irrational, grossly unreasonable and unconstitutional.

The fund said it was not against healthcare reform and universal access, but was acting in the interests of a transparent, lawful and effective health system and a legislative passage that has followed due process.