Update – System Reform and Cost Study Progress
The NPPF remains committed to sector reform and engages with a wide range of stakeholders to find common ground. Some of these engagements are informal, with the objective of creating meaningful outcomes.
We therefore welcomed NAMAF’s recent sentiments recognising the urgency of systemic reform in the private health funding sector. Importantly, NAMAF has expressed support — both verbally and in writing — for the establishment of a Medical Control Board to bring greater oversight, transparency, and accountability to a fragmented system. This marks a significant shift towards constructive engagement and co-creation of solutions.
NAMAF has also acknowledged many of the issues consistently raised by NPPF, including unchecked provider growth, tariff-setting gaps, and the inadequacy of prevention frameworks under ICD-10. These cannot be resolved without fundamental reform. A statutory structure is therefore inevitable, and participation in shaping it will become an important consideration for all stakeholders.
Our Cost Study is a central step in this process. NAMAF has indicated its support for this initiative and even expressed willingness to contribute financially. Under the envisaged Medical Control Board, the current NAMAF Benchmark tariff would be transformed into an Ethical Tariff, serving as Namibia’s transparent and equitable national standard.
To date, 82 practices have submitted data, but we need at least 130 to ensure robust results. Participation in the study is now a visible sign of commitment to transparency, accountability, and a fairer system that also considers the needs of both practitioners and patients. There is a particular need for data from General Practitioners, who remain significantly underrepresented in the study so far. Participation is also low across all regions. We therefore repeat our plea:
Your participation is essential to secure a transparent, fair, and sustainable tariff system. Submit your data to HealthMan today — together we can contribute and shape the future of private healthcare funding.
We thank those who have contributed financially to make this study possible, and those who have already submitted their surveys. Your support strengthens our collective bargaining position and demonstrates sector solidarity.
The NPPF also continues to build synergies with professional associations across the healthcare sector. While we believe in the principle of good faith engagement, we are at the same time preparing an autonomous funding model to safeguard practitioner interests. This will remain necessary until there is concrete evidence that the present funding sector is moving towards a truly joint and equitable system. A united HCP front is imperative to ensure that reforms are practitioner-driven, equitable, and sustainable.
The NPPF remains committed to finding creative and workable solutions to complex problems. For this, we need contemporary and accurate data. Without a representative cost study, we risk remaining exactly where we are — in a situation NAMAF itself now has acknowledged is not sustainable.
Kind regards
Dr Jürgen Hoffmann
CEO: NAMIBIA PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS FORUM
Cell: 081 1242884
Email: ceo@nppf.info
