The Department of Health has moved to clarify South Africa’s constitutional obligations on healthcare access, following heated debate around who will benefit from the upcoming National Health Insurance (NHI).
Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the department, told Sunday World that while the system must remain sustainable, it cannot ignore the country’s Constitution.
Cosatu wants SA citizens prioritised
Mohale’s comments come after Congress of South African Trade Unions parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks told Parliament that non-South Africans are entitled only to emergency treatment at state hospitals and clinics, not the comprehensive care reserved for citizens and legal residents.
Parks was echoing the views of the health portfolio committee chairperson and medical doctor Dr Sibongiseni Maxwell Dhlomo.
Parks told the publication that the NHI should prioritise South Africans and foreigners who live and work legally in the country, since they contribute through taxes.
“Undocumented foreigners would only be entitled to emergency medical care, like that necessary to save a life. Long-term care wouldn’t be provided,” Parks said.
Cosatu insists that the public health system, already stretched to its limits, cannot cope if undocumented migrants access the same services as taxpayers.
Health department issues caution
Mohale, however, urged caution, saying the issue cannot be reduced to a single clause. He pointed to Section 27 of the Constitution, which contains two important provisions.
The first states that “everyone has the right to access healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare”. The second makes it clear that “no one may be refused emergency medical treatment”.
“The Department of Health recognises the need to read both sections together. This to ensure all people in South Africa, regardless of nationality or legal status, access basic healthcare services. As constitutionally mandated,” Mohale stressed.
Excluding vulnerable groups, Mohale warned, could risk human rights violations and fuel further inequality.
With the NHI roll-out on the horizon, the debate over migrants’ access to healthcare has intensified. Cosatu is holding firm that taxpayers must come first. The Health Department is calling for a more holistic approach that preserves healthcare as a cornerstone of social justice.
