SA's health system

For a national health insurance plan to provide comprehensive cover, the taxpayer base should be extensive. Here’s how we compare to some other countries.

Switzerland 78%
Canada 73%
United Kingdom 72%
Australia 71%
United States 71%
Germany 67%
France 63%
South Africa 43%
Source: Discovery Health

‘South Africa has the highest income inequality in the world’ – McIntyre

South Africa’s private healthcare system scored 78 when rated according to performance on access and quality.

Only five countries scored higher: Australia (83), Sweden and Belgium (81), Switzerland (80) and Ireland (79). France and the UK also scored 78, while Germany (75), the US (71) and Canada (71) had lower scores.

South Africa’s public healthcare system scored 53, while South Africa as a whole scored 58. Countries scoring lower than the South African public sector were Colombia (52), Peru (44), Venezuela (43), Kenya (41), Namibia (41) and Morocco (36).
Source: Pool Stream database, Monitor Analysis / Provided by Discovery Health

How long it took these countries
The ANC wants a national health insurance system to be up and running within five years, but how practical is that time frame when compared to other countries?

Germany 127 years
Belgium 118 years
Switzerland 90 years
United Kingdom 37 years
Canada 37 years
Australia 30 years
Korea 26 years
Costa Rica 20 years
Source: Discovery Health

This is an edited extract of an article first published in What’s New Doc, 3rd issue, March/April 2009. What’s New Doc is a publication for medical doctors, produced in association with Health24.

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National health unsureness