In the 2018 Budget Speech Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, stated “Over the medium term, the National Health Insurance (NHI) is allocated an additional R4.2 billion, funded through an amendment to the medical expenses tax subsidy. Over the next three years, below-inflation increases in medical tax credits will help government to fund the rollout of NHI,” the budget review stated. Overall, government will be spending R205 billion on health in 2018/19 growing to R240 billion by 2020/21.

South Africa, as is the case with most developing countries, has a problem in that its population is often defined along the lines of the haves and the have nots. This poses a problem when we look at the situation with the lens of the financial services sector. The regulator and government hope to address this soon to encourage financial inclusion.