In October 2012, there was no mention made of how to fund the NHI in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. However, the Department of Health received a significant increase to its budget with an additional R500 million added to its original budget for the 2012/13 fiscal year.
National Treasury plan to issue a discussion document that will give us an idea of how the NHI will be funded. This discussion document was due to be issued in November 2012, then delayed until February 2013 and delayed again until later in 2013 for further consultation.
Funding options proposed in previous budgets were:
- A special tax on high income earners, or
- An increase to VAT; or
- A mandatory contribution by all employees (administered through the payroll).