South Africa's NHI plan has major ramifications for private health care, says Frost & Sullivan

The proposal for a National Health Insurance (NHI) is without doubt the most significant development in South Africa's health care sector for 2010. The aim of the NHI is to create universal health care coverage for all the country's citizens.

The government's program of action, which was published last fall on an official web site, initially indicated that the cabinet would receive a draft, "incorporating public comment, by April 2010," with NHI legislation ready by July. The details only emerged last November.

The government has stated that the NHI would benefit everyone in the country by improving the public health care system and giving all citizens access to the level of care currently reserved for those able to afford private treatment. However, the impact on the country's private healthcare industry promises to be immense.