“SA’s ambitious NHI Act is facing a significant legal challenge, wrote Katlego Mothudi, MD of the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) in TimesLive (31 August 20255)
On 24 August the BHF launched two interconnected court cases, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional, unworkable, and a threat to the nation's healthcare future.
While the BHF supports the goal of universal healthcare (UHC), the Act in its current form is a profoundly flawed vehicle that will derail, not deliver, health justice for South Africans, wrote Mothudi.
In its addidavit the BHF states that the law, signed by the President despite widespread concerns, is “fundamentally unsound in both its design and legal standing”.
Key arguments include: no credible financial plan;excessive ministerial powers vague and unworkable structure; erosion of Constitutional Rights and patient choice; threat to existing healthcare access; a review of presidential assent; and a challenge to Parliamentary Process.
“As these legal challenges proceed, the future of South Africa's healthcare system hangs in the balance. The BHF maintains its readiness to work with the government on a viable and constitutionally sound framework. But, for now, the fate of the NHI will be decided not in Parliament, but in the nation’s highest courts.”