President Cyril Ramaphosa used his 2025 State of the Nation address on Thursday to reaffirm the government’s commitment to rolling out the National Health Insurance (NHI) and promised improvements to healthcare access and infrastructure. But he did not mention a reported deal between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) — the two major parties in the government of national unity formed after last year’s elections — to ensure that private medical schemes remain in place once the NHI is implemented. Thabiso Tema spoke with Dr Katlego Mothudi is the Managing, Director of the Board of Healthcare Funders.