Australia and the UK have long had programs whereby some elderly patients with end-stage kidney disease, or those with many comorbidities, opt to forego dialysis, but the US has lagged behind.
Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu says an investigation has been launched to bring to book more than 5,000 government officials who benefited from the R350 social relief of distress grant.
"The new regulations have gone backwards and are putting millions of lives in jeopardy for the people who can now no longer access this," said Black Sash executive director Rachel Bukasa.
"I assure all qualifying applicants they will be in receipt of their payments for this iteration of the grant by June," said social development minister Lindiwe Zulu.