Amid ongoing legal battles over the National Health Insurance, hopes for a truce dwindle as political motives complicate negotiations on universal healthcare.

There were hopes last week that there could be a truce in the nine court cases brought by various groups opposed to the government's introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI). Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a truce will be reached, and the burning issue of universal healthcare will remain mired in the politics that the world's most unequal society creates.

On Wednesday, News24's Carol Paton reported that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had suggested in Parliament that all the NHI court cases should be withdrawn and those involved should sit around a table and reach an agreement.

On Thursday evening, the CEO of the medical aid scheme Profmed, Craig Comrie, said he welcomed the chance to negotiate and was looking forward to an invitation to sit down and talk.

Several of the other bodies that have brought cases against the NHI would probably agree with him.

Some have a very real interest in avoiding a court case, particularly because it can give the impression they are trying to prevent poor people from getting proper healthcare.

Some will be happy to negotiate because they know that most of the discussions will boil down to money. There might be debates about...