The study looked at how social health protection in South Africa can help people access healthcare without falling into poverty. They used data from a survey in 2002 to see how being part of a health protection scheme affects healthcare use and costs. The results showed that being in a health protection scheme can reduce the risk of becoming poor because of healthcare expenses. However, the current health protection systems in place are not perfect and need to be improved to help more people, especially those who are poor. It is important for policymakers to focus on expanding health protection to cover those who are most vulnerable to high healthcare costs.