Political Leadership in South Africa: National Health Insurance
2015
This case traces the development of national health insurance (NHI) in South Africa under Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi. After providing background on health financing and health insurance policy in South Africa, the case explores Motsoaledi’s approach to realizing universal health coverage by establishing a government-administered NHI system and overhauling primary health care in the public sector. The case highlights the importance of strategic communication and stakeholder engagement in the highly political process of health system reform.
Through discussion students can explore the relationship between policy development, financing, and implementation of public health care delivery; the complexity of implementing standards and accountability for primary care infrastructure; and the work and negotiation needed to build consensus among private and public payers and providers with competing financial interests to generate greater value in health care delivery.
This case is part of the Global Health Delivery Online Case Collection, which is a growing set of Harvard Business School-style teaching case studies, each with an accompanying teaching note, designed to educate current and future managers on how programs, governments, and enterprises determine their strategies and design systems to meet the needs of patients and populations.
Political Leadership in South Africa: National Health Insurance
Source:
Madore A et al. Political Leadership in South Africa: National Health Insurance. Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital 2015. http://www.globalhealthdelivery.org/case-collection/case-studies/africa/political-leadership-in-south-africa-national-heal.