Abstract
M.Com. (South African & International Taxation)
The tax system in South Africa makes provision for everyday South African citizens to contribute to a greater or lesser extent towards health care funding in South Africa. However, as a result of the high unemployment rate, a large gap exists between tax contributors and non-tax contributors. This raises the question of whether it is fair that the burden to fund the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) initiative in South Africa is borne by the small percentage of current tax contributors.
The purpose of this research was to provide a taxation perspective on the different funding models and financing options available to the South African government for consideration in developing the NHI implementation strategy.
The study evaluated the four traditional health care models used worldwide and assessed existing health care systems in selected first and third world countries in order to contribute towards the development of the proposed NHI system in South Africa. The health care models used by France, The United States, The United Kingdom, Brazil and Spain were evaluated in order to achieve an understanding of the funding approaches followed by these countries.
It was found that although it is inevitable that South African tax contributors will have to be more heavily taxed in order to fund the NHI, as there are only limited possibilities for distributing the tax burden evenly. The main stumbling block in finding an equitable funding solution is the fact that there is a large disparity in South African income tax contributors.