In a follow-up to his address on 30 May 2007 regarding Access to Healthcare and the state of healthcare services in the country, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, Chairperson of the SA Medical Association (SAMA) wishes to clarify misconceptions that may have arisen out of his statement to the South African Human Rights Commission:
We need to restore confidence in our public healthcare institutions and ascertain that the healthcare system benefits all people in South Africa. The current healthcare system is a two-tiered system with funding of the healthcare system skewed in favour of those who can afford to pay. This is as a result of inequitable healthcare financing legislations and policy instruments, as well as inefficiencies in administration mechanisms of these funds. Letlape called for a basic healthcare package for all who live in South Africa. Dr Letlape elucidated further: The basic healthcare package should be centrally-funded, based on an equitable progressive taxation system and cross-subsidisation. The country needs a healthcare system that all people, regardless of class or status can depend on, and not just based on what you can afford to pay to access healthcare.
Dr Letlape further shed light on what he articulated in his submission by stating that: Private healthcare is a critical component of healthcare delivery in South Africa and is definitely here to stay. It forms an integral part of healthcare delivery in this country and will always co-exist with the public healthcare system, as it does in many countries in the world, especially in Western countries. Independent practitioners will always have a significant role in providing healthcare services, including a basic healthcare package, to the broader society as well and not just to those on medical aid.
In its deliberation on the 1st June 2007, the Board of the SAMA re-emphasised the critical role that the private sector and independent practitioners play in the current and any future healthcare dispensation in South Africa. This is a matter of policy for SAMA. Furthermore, the SAMA Board wishes to express its regrets about any misrepresentation that may have arisen out of Dr Letlapes submission to the South African Human Rights Commission and any other related media statements regarding the role of private healthcare.