Govt’s private health tariff plan slammed
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has criticised Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau’s draft, calling the exemptions for tariff negotiations inadequate.
Tau’s proposed regulations to the Competition Act aim to combat anti-competitive practices in private healthcare by regulating pricing and encouraging fair competition.
Despite this, private healthcare remains unaffordable for many, forcing around 60% of citizens to rely on the public health sector.
“As a country, we need a well-coordinated legal, independent, and properly regulated pricing framework that aligns with international best practices while being accountable under South African law,” said SAMA Chairperson Mvuyisi Mzukwa, speaking at Thursday’s United Healthcare Access Coalition (UHAC) briefing.
The coalition also voiced concerns over the recently gazetted exemptions to competition law, which would allow tariff negotiations for medical aid benefits.
Tau’s draft suggests granting medical schemes and some providers an interim exemption from collective bargaining restrictions and creating a tariff negotiation forum under the health department’s oversight.
However, UHAC urged the government to abandon its plans for a collective bargaining scheme for private healthcare providers, arguing that the proposal is legally flawed and will not reduce costs.
Simon Strachan, chair of the SA Private Practitioners Forum, stressed that hospitals should be included in the tariff-setting mechanism due to their significant role in driving healthcare cost inflation.
“These proposals are fundamentally flawed from the start. Even though this is a draft regulation with potential amendments, we must make it clear that we are deeply concerned about the process these policies have set in motion,” Strachan stated.
The healthcare coalition argued that the government’s tariff plan should be withdrawn, claiming that it is insufficient and contradicts the Health Market Inquiry’s recommendations from five years ago.
Wits governance expert Professor Alex van den Heever called for more comprehensive reform.
“What the government must do is properly legislate this framework using the minister of health’s authority, which is the only way forward. It’s incomprehensible that this is the route being followed,” stated Van den Heever.
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