Abstract:
In the 18th years of our young but thriving democracy, several programmes were
established to improve access to health care for disadvantaged groups in South
Africa. Although numerous studies have been conducted examining trends on
access to health care, considerable controversy remains. Nearly all authors concur
that important progress has been made, and that gaps in access to health care
narrowed considerably. Some however, go further and conclude that the evidence
indicates that all significant gaps have been eliminated and access to health care is
universally shared. Evidence on access to health care has important policy
implications. If the task of assuming access to health care has been largely
accomplished, further expansion of South African health care programmes to
promote access would be unwarranted. If selected population groups lag behind
others in access to health care, targeted policies to close remaining gaps may be
warranted. The introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme call for the
health reform in South Africa and it will change the whole health sector and offers
equal benefits on access to quality health care services to everyone in South Africa.
