Chairperson, the question is about the means test for free access to state hospitals and the amount of money collected. The guiding principles are outlined in the National Health Act, Act 61 of 2003, in Annexure H, which is the patient classification policy. This policy was adopted in 2002 by the National Health Council. It provides for salient guidelines in respect of the application and interpretation of patient classification, financing subsidies and user fees.
We have not re-evaluated this since 2002, because we are trying to avoid hardship, especially for indigent people. Section 4 of the National Health Act, Act 61 of 2003, makes provision for certain users to be eligible for free health services in the public health sector. According to section 4(1), the Minister of Health, after consultation with the Minister of Finance, may prescribe conditions as to which categories of persons are eligible for such free health services at public health establishments as the two Ministers might then prescribe.
This means test is the assessment of income - both for a single person and also for a household. The classification is according to H(0), H(1), H(2) and H(3), whereby all H(0) patients are those who are formally unemployed and HG patients are people who, under certain conditions, are exempted, such as old-age pensioners and people on child support grants and veterans' pensions, pensions for the blind, family allowances or disability grants, etc. The issue of the amount collected differs from province to province. It ranges from R29 million in the Northern Cape to R334 million in Gauteng.