1. Introduction
The liberation of South Africa (SA) into an independent and democratic nation in 1994 was accompanied by drastic measures to amend persistent disparities especially those among different races. In this notion, many areas, healthcare were prioritised as one such important sector. Currently under the rule of the African National Congress (ANC) party, the South African government has recently published the National Health Insurance (NHI) Green Paper. This essay will discuss the economic incidence of implementing the NHI. Analyses of the financing and benefit incidences will be made for both the current health system and the newly proposed NHI. Finally, a plausible conclusion will be made based on the analysis of the analysis of
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However, a research paper written by Econex authors Theron & Van Eeden (2009:P. 4) indicate an alternative conclusion whereas their results show a more considerable cross-subsidisation between the rich and the poor. Figure 1 and 2 illustrate the contrasting ideas presented by the two research papers (Appendix A; Appendix …show more content…
Analysis of the financing incidence of the NHI
As with many policy objectives, the means of funding any project are of utmost importance. The preliminary financing mechanism for the NHI as suggested by the African National Congress (2010) (Treasury, 2011) was general taxation more so through the means of an earmarked tax. Earmarking taxes according to Cordes et al., (2005: p.89) refers to devoting a stream of tax revenue to a precise expenditure purpose (Cordes, et al., 2005). In the context of the NHI, this entails that all individuals are to be taxed above what they are currently paying.
In the Econex Health reform note by (Theron, 2011)Theron (2011: p.1), a discussion is conducted of the ANC’s proposal of using an earmarked tax to fund the additional expenditure required for the NHI. The article discussed two main ideas. The first idea principally discussed that using earmarked taxes is a weak argument with regards to funding the NHI. According to Theron (2011: p.1), (Theron, 2011)earmarked taxes are reserved solely for specific programmes or projects. The article further stated that earmarked taxes reduce the flexibility of public spending as the overall economic performance fluctuates with the business
National health systems are assessed by the extent to which expenditure and actions in public health and medical care contributes to the crucial social goals of improving health, increasing access to quality healthcare, reducing health disparities, protecting citizens from penury due to medical e...
A health care system that provides free health care services to its entire citizen can be termed as universal health care. This is a situation where all citizens are protected from financial costs in health care. It is recognized around the globe as it provides a specific package of benefits to all citizens in the entire nation. For instance, free health care can result to improved health outcomes. In addition, it provides financial risk protection and an improved access to health services. There is an increasing debate on how citizen should be provided with free medical services. Although United State does not permit free health care services it should have free health care for all citizens. This is due to the fact that healthcare is the largest industry in United State. Due to the fact that United State is a rich country, it should have a healthcare system that provides free services such as treatment for its entire citizen. This will play a significant role, as it will stop medical bankruptcies in...
The reasons why ABF would be considered by the government in Australia’s public hospitals are; cost reduction and efficiency increases. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014), in Australia, $140.2 billion was spent on health care in 2011-12 with 69.7% of the funding derived from the federal government and 27.3% from state and territory governments. Since the global economic crisis in 2007/2008, government health funding has increased and tax revenue has declined; where previously the figures were growing at an adjacent and stable rate.
The Australian health care system comprises both the public and the private health sub-sectors. The health care system concerns itself with the financing, formulation, implementation, evaluation, and reforming of health services. The main sources of f...
For this assignment I read The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon translated and edited by Ivan Morris. Sei Shonagon’s story takes place over one thousand years ago around the end of the 10th century and very beginning of the 11th century. Her entries are located mostly in the Imperial Palace during her time as a lady in waiting to Empress Teishi and then Empress Sadako in Heian, Japan. The first version of the book was completed in 1002 and has been rewritten or translated several times since then. Her pillow book consists of 185 sections that include cultural references, various lists and poems and diary entries about things that have happened to or around her.
The word “apartheid” means “separateness” in Afrikaans Language. Human Rights, according to “Article 1, UN Declaration of Rights” states that “ All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in spirit of brotherhood”. The native Africans were being segregated from the whites and were treated as second class citizens. The black residents felt that the apartheid policies violated their rights. Human rights of South African natives were violated when a racial segregation system, called Apartheid, based upon skin color was established by the South African government. Although there were various international responses, the actions of such groups as the African National Congress displayed defiance and bravery in the midst of severe situations.
The Statutory Health Insurance (SHI), financed primarily through “payroll taxes and...an income tax,” covers the entire resident population (E. Mossialos 59). The SHI is composed of several schemes in which “individuals and their families are affiliated with a scheme based on their employment status and remain in [that] scheme in retirement.” No individuals can opt out to ensure coverage among “virtually the entire population.” The most popular scheme “covers employees in commerce and industry,” representing approximately 88% of the population. Despite the variety of SHI schemes for variations in employment statuses, such as agricultural or self-employment, “there is no competition among the schemes.” For low-income individuals
Source A gives a view on the South African governments control over its people and racial discrimination. It is a biased view and makes the South African government seem cruel and racist. It states that the governments "politics are determined by the colour a persons skin". As this is a statement it gives the impression that it is a fact and by giving this impression it also communicates the idea that the South African government IS racist, rather than the South African government COULD be racist. This comes as no real surprise as the advert has been paid for by the ANC (African National Congress), who are a very anti - South African government organization.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the layout of taxation. I will differentiate the types of taxes and the roles that they serve currently. Subsequently, I will explain what equity, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency (EEET) are and show how they apply to taxation as a whole. Lastly, I will conclude how the EEET applies to the four tax types.
A recent report updated in 2014 by the Commonwealth Fund shows that among 11 countries surveyed, the United States has the highest cost associated with healthcare, measured by total health related expenditures as a percent of the GDP; yet our healthcare system ranks last in most dimensions of performance, which include access, quality, efficiency, and equity. This presents the notion that a more expensive health care system does not correlate with a one of higher quality.
Pressured by the demands of a growing population and limited by resources in a volatile economy, the government of Tanzania has created a decentralized multi-tiered health system. The majority of the system’s health facilities (approx. 65%) are government-run; however faith-based and for-profit providers also supply instrumental care services (Borghi et al. 2012). The system assumes and facilitates disparities in individuals’ wealth and accessibility to care. It employs a hierarchy of health services to provide people with general health services locally, and then refer them to increasingly more centralized and specialized facilities as needed.
Health finance:-Health financing as the “function of a health system concerned with the mobilization, accumulation and allocation of money to cover the health needs of the people, individually and collectively, in the health system”; the “purpose of health financing is to make funding available, as well as to set the right financial incentives to providers, to ensure that all individuals have access to effective public health and personal health care”(WHO 2007).
The problems of formal health services and the challenges in sub-Saharan Africa have been widely documented. Findings from other current studies reveal a myriad of failures in the supply and demand side of health services. Access to formal services is also impinged by distance and financial factors; service quality is extremely very poor and is highly characterized by drug and staff shortages, lack of political commitment, poor infrastructure and negligence among health staff (Kadzandira and Chalowa, 2001).
A theoretical basis does also exist for the reverse causation, from health expenditure to income and economic growth. The role of health care spending, as an investment, on stimulating economic growth has been suggested by Mushkin. According to him, health is considered as capital. Therefore, investment on health can increase income and hence lead to overall economic growth. (Mushkin, 1962). This is especially seen on low income or developing countries. The World Health Organization’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health report of the year 2001, states that “extending the coverage of crucial health services to the world’s poor could save millions of lives each year, reduce poverty, spur economic development and promote global security” (World Health Organization, 2001).
...ile the pandemic will absolutely leverage the rate of financial development, structural alterations are furthermore expected to be one of the prime economic hallmarks of the AIDS pandemic (Arndt 427-449). The effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be visualized by the overwhelming change in mortality rate of South Africans. The yearly number of mortalities from HIV increased distinctly between the years 1997, when about 316,559 people died, and 2006 when an estimated 607,184 people died ("HIV AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA"). Those who are currently assuming the burden of the increase in mortality rate are adolescents and young adults. Virtually one-in-three females of ages 25-29, and over 25% of males aged 30-34, are currently living with HIV in South Africa (UNAIDS). The good news, thanks to better supply of ARV treatment, is that life-expectancy has risen vastly since 2005.