R1.2 billion of the health budget for the 2014/15 financial year will be dedicated to contracting private general practitioners (GPs) to work for the government’s National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme at 11 pilot sites.
R1.2 billion of the health budget for the 2014/15 financial year will be dedicated to contracting private general practitioners (GPs) to work for the government’s National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme at 11 pilot sites.
Health was allocated R145.7 billion in the national budget, which is R11.4 billion more than the amount allocated the previous financial year.
The Eastern Cape's O R Tambo region has been selected as a test site for the NHI scheme.
"The Department of Health's white paper on the NHI and a financing paper by the National Treasury have been completed and will be tabled in Cabinet shortly," said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in Parliament on Wednesday.
R43.5 billion has been budgeted for HIV and Aids programmes over the next three years.
This is slightly more than the R41-billion that was allocated over the past five years.
South Africa has 2.5 million people on the state-funded HIV treatment programme and, according to Gordhan, this figure will increase annually by 500 000 patients.
The R1.2 billion has been allocated for piloting GP's contracts under NHI programmes around the country – but, this was not clearly explained by Gordhan.
Questions remain over exactly how the R1.2 billion will be distributed, and who exactly is in charge of the money.
