South African consultancy assesses steps for health care reforms

The first draft of the South African government's proposed national health insurance (NHI) plan is expected this month, and the market is waiting to see what this means for the 74 billion rand ($9.87 billion) medical scheme industry.

With the aim of contributing to the debate about what steps should be taken on the road to reforming South Africa's health system, Econex, a diverse economics consultancy based in the country, has begun a series of research notes on issues of general health reform there.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi recently commented that the proposed NHI would be unaffordable if based on the current public health system, and assured the public that the NHI would not be an event, but rather that 'it's going to be a process and a process that will take a long time.'