This week saw the launch of a new, far-reaching court case against NHI, protest action planned over GEMS premium increases, Gauteng doctors’ complaints over MRI machine purchases, and a new tuberculosis dashboard.
Another NHI Court Case
Yet another court case has been initiated against NHI, this time from AfriForum. Unlike previous court cases which took aim at various parts of the NHI legislation, Afriforum describes theirs as launching a “comprehensive attack” on the NHI Act. This includes summons being served on President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, among others.
According to court documents, Afriforum “foresees material factual disputes” and expects there to be cross-examination and experts. The organisation cited constitutional violations, while the Department of Health contends that NHI has been through the legislation process and cannot be altered. Experts have warned that continuing legal action will bog down NHI, kicking its decades-long implementation even further down the road. Read the full story in BusinessTech.
Public Sector Unions to Protest over GEMS Increases
This weekend, public sector unions are set to take to the streets in protests over the 9.8% increase in Government Employee Medical Scheme (GEMS) premiums. This increase is far above the 3.3% increase recommended by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), and above the private sector increases, which range from 4.7% for Genesis to a weighted average of 8.8% for Bonitas, according to Moonstone. All of this comes in the wake of 2025’s unprecedented 10.1% average increase, with a 13.4% increase for GEMS. The nationwide protests are set to culminate in a march to GEMS’ offices next week Thursday. SABC News has more on the protests.
Gauteng Doctors Criticise Choice of MRI Machine
Doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital have questioned a Gauteng Health Department decision to override their choice of a Philips MRI machine. The scanner is part of a R304-million rollout of eight scanners across Gauteng public hospitals. The original choice of a Philips machine is about R10 million cheaper than the Chinese alternative, and the doctors said that it was technically superior. and the head of the hospital’s supply chain management committee warned that the change could increase costs, downtime, and clinical risk. The dispute comes amid mounting diagnostic backlogs at Gauteng hospitals, including some 2600 cancer patients at Charlotte Maxeke. GroundUp covers the story, which has also been republished on QuickNews.
New Tuberculosis Dashboard
Spotlight has launched a new tuberculosis dashboard and graph generator. Based on the latest Thembisa model data, it is the counterpart to the HIV Dashboard which was launched in November last year. Users can look backward and forward in time on a range of TB parameters, with future modelling currently out to 2030. Check out Spotlight’s tuberculosis dashboard here.
