The South African parliament has passed a universal insurance bill despite opposition from different quarters in the country.
The bill, which sailed through on Tuesday, seeks to provide health insurance coverage for all South Africans, regardless of their employment status or income.
Two hundred and five (205) Members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the bill, while 125 rejected it.
Those opposed to the National Health Insurance Bill argued that the South African economy was already struggling to even support the basic sectors.
Others expressed fear that the insurance-for-all scheme would be mismanaged and the funds possibly stolen.
The bill, which will be implemented in phases at a cost of billions of dollars, proposes a special fund that will pool public and private resources.
It also proposes to limit private insurance companies to only offering cover for services not reimbursable by the national insurance fund.
South African Health minister Joe Phaahla termed the bill “one of the most revolutionary bills ever passed by parliament”.
"This is one of the most revolutionary pieces of legislation presented to this house since the dawn of our democracy in 1994,” he said.
About 9 million South Africans have enrolled for private health cover, while close to 50 million people, many of them unemployed, remain uninsured.
The African Christian Democratic Party MP, Marie Sukers, said the legislation will have far-reaching consequences.
She said many medical insurance companies operating in South Africa might close down and relocate to other countries where there are “favourable business policies”.
The bill will now go to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence before it is transmitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his consideration.
