'Rich-country' solutions …

We have spent the last five years working in Europe. Even in wealthy countries there is still dissatisfaction with national health services, despite there being a lower doctor-patient ratio and fantastically equipped hospitals compared with South Africa. As a health professional, I think I would find the prospect of an NHI in SA enough to drive me away from the country.

I agree totally with the commentator who said that what the SA government should be doing now is to encourage young people to enter the health professions and focus on making our hospitals effective and more numerous. By all means tax the rich more heavily to help with this, but threatening them with having to join a public health system in the next five years would have unhelpful consequences.

The plans for an NHI remind me of the new educational system which was bulldosed through despite serious concerns of educators.

I do believe it is a rich country solution. And an I'll founded cause. We cant afford to pay doctors, nurses properly our biggest hospitals struggle to fund new equipment, or even purchase panado and surgical gloves. Clearly we have a huge crisis. if we cant affoer to fund hospitals properly how on earth is any national health service going to work. Also, why should anyone want to stay in a country that slaps people over the wrist for earning a decent income and paying for health care that is vaguely decent. Its a general problem we need to get more people earning not punishing those that do earn. They will simply go else where. Fact this isn't Europe. Don't implement European solutions, in a African context without significant consultation and adjustment. We have one of the world highest HIV / AIDS rate, 20% of our population cannot support the high medical needs required to support those infected. The maths simply doesn't work, a grad 5 kid could figure that out. What the hell is wrong with our government anyway i thought the we had a right to decent health care. Or is the Constitution just a bad joke.

Is this a joke?

The intentions are noble, but the solution is flawed – bordering on idiocy really. Curbing the cost of health care is something we all want. South Africa has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world. NHI is effective in other countries because the pool of funding is from the majority middle class earners, not the minority of citizens.

Private hospitals in this country are first class, but they are expensive. Their profitability lies in the fact the public sector offers no real alternative. Those charged with implementing the NHI are totally out of touch with the situation on the ground. I challenge them to spend 1 week with a junior public service doctor. The gross inefficiencies, lack of basic resources (yes, panado and gloves), and staff shortages are hard to miss. However it is not beyond repair. We need to fix the public sector in order to drive prices down. This needs to be done before we start thinking NHI.

As it stands the NHI is an elaborate but short sighted financing scheme that’s doomed to failure. Fix what is broken, don’t break it if its working.

There is nothing new...The ANC has wrecked our eductational system, and now (under ideology-driven communist influence) will also wreck whatwever is left of our heathcare system.

I am fed up with "rich" and "poor" articles. Most people have money because they work hard. The more people work, the more money they will have. There is this notion of entitlement from the unemployed that they should be sponsored by the employed. GET TO WORK. Start vegetable gardens at schools, community halls, churches and government buildings. Use the vegetables for feeding schemes and trade the rest of the vegetables or give it to charities. WORK FOR YOURSELF AND FEED YOURSELF. Annette

I thoroughly agree with the other commentators that this is an ill-thought through proposla, based on ideology and not on what will work in practise. Given the number of healthcare professionals leaving the country, the poor state of service delivery in state hospitals and the protest marches by existing heathcare professionals against the current remuneration system,I would have thought that a thorough feasibility study with public participation by all interested parties should receive urgent priority.

Malice