Frequently Asked Questions

What is the campaign about?

The campaign intends to be a civil society engagement mechanism, where healthcare users in both the private and public sector, can engage formally on healthcare service delivery issues.

What was the motivation for starting this campaign?

As a patient advocacy group working in a very marginalised sector, RDSA is acutely aware of the lack of understanding and education with regards to patients right and entitlements. This results in disempowered healthcare users who are being failed by an overwhelmed and overburdened system.

Is this only a private healthcare initiative?

No, not at all. Whilst the first issue we are addressing is related to the private sector, we intend on using this forum as a place to discuss all service delivery issues in both sectors in South Africa.

Who owns / runs this initiative?

At this stage, RDSA is the main driver of the campaign, but the intention is to join forces with other like-minded institutions working on developing solutions for healthcare challenges in the country, and for this campaign to be collaborative and inclusive, allowing participation from the entire community.

What are the key focus areas?

While this is a Rare Diseases South Africa (RDSA) initiative and will kick off with an issue related to Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs), it is open to all healthcare users to raise their issues and we anticipate participation across disease groupings for all – including common, rare, infectious, and non-communicable diseases. Focus areas identified for inclusion:

Health Policy
Health Care Access and Financing
Resources to educate patients so they can make well-informed healthcare decisions
Policy Implementation

What is the current call to action for this campaign?

Currently, we are looking to address the issue of the Council For Medical Schemes (CMS) not being able to regulate due to resource limitations. This inefficiency has a wide reach over the private sector, and essentially disables members of Medical Schemes to receive appropriate and timely assistance when laying complaints against a scheme. We are of the view that medical schemes are using the state of the current CMS office to their advantage to delay covering expenses incurred by their members, particularly when it comes to expensive interventions.

Why is it important for ALL South Africans to support this campaign?

Essentially, the current CMS complaints procedure is what is proposed for the dispute resolution process within NHI, so whilst currently, the CMS is only regulating Medical Schemes, the process, if not fixed and strengthened now, will be even harder to rectify once NHI is implemented.

How can people get involved?

Visit www.dearheaelthminister.org and share your story.
Sign the petition asking the Minister Of health to provide the necessary resources for the CMS to be able to do their jobs effectively, without delay at

How can members of the public get in touch?

Via Twitter or via Email