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News24 reports that the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) wants urgent answers from government on a move to start phasing out medical scheme tax credits.
The nonprofit body, which represents more than 40 medical schemes and administrators, warns that this could eventually make membership unaffordable for between 430 000 to 690,000 South Africans. The BHF has written to the National Treasury demanding clarity on recent government statements that medical scheme tax credits will be phased out, starting with higher earners, to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI).
The BHF says this would hit medical aid affordability for low- and middle-income earners, not just high-income members. “The removal of medical tax credits is not a technical adjustment. It is a policy decision with profound public-interest implications. Nearly 67% of medical scheme members come from previously disadvantaged communities. These are not the wealthy elite, they are teachers, nurses, security guards, and office workers doing their best to fund their own healthcare,” the BHF’s Dr Katlego Mothudi pointed out.
Deputy director-general for health, Nicholas Crisp, who is also responsible for the NHI, said in a briefing to MPs this week that discussions with Treasury were under way to gradually withdraw medical scheme tax credits. This was reiterated in a Department of Health presentation to the Standing Committee on Appropriations this week, which confirmed that the phasing-out process would begin in the 2026/27 financial year.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)
- Lees ook, Groeiende kommer oor moontlike uitfasering van mediesefondskrediete, by Maroela Media
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page