Medical scheme members cannot keep absorbing above-inflation increases or downgrading to cheaper options indefinitely, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) says. The industry body is therefore calling for long-delayed reform of prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs) and collective tariff bargaining. BHF managing director Katlego Mothudi told Moneyweb that reform must address what schemes cover. The BHF has written to the Council…
Tag: Competition Commission
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Ambulance Tariff Negotiations Seek Competition Exemption
South Africa’s private ambulance operators have applied for permission to negotiate tariffs and payment structures collectively with medical aid schemes. The South African Private Ambulance & Emergency Services Association submitted the exemption application to the Competition Commission. Sapaesa represents more than 120 private emergency medical service providers. Its members include ER24 and several smaller independent ambulance businesses. Collective tariff negotiations…
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Excessive Dialysis Product Pricing: Adcock Ingram Referred
South Africa’s Competition Commission has referred pharmaceutical manufacturer Adcock Ingram’s hospital division to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution over alleged excessive pricing of kidney dialysis products. The referral, announced on 3 June 2026, targets Adcock Ingram Critical Care (AICC) and covers pricing for peritoneal dialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) products between July 2019 and June 2024. The commission…
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Private Healthcare Market Dominance Reveals Serious Problems
A new report reveals a troubling reality. A small group of private hospitals and medical schemes are earning huge profits. This is due to their ongoing market dominance. The advocacy group Open Secrets states that a lack of regulation is a key factor in this issue. Six years ago, the Competition Commission raised similar concerns. However, very little has changed…
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Vertex’s Trikafta: Addressing Drug Pricing Issues
Health activists are demanding that the Competition Commission reopen its investigation into pharmaceutical giant Vertex. They argue the company’s pricing and access strategies for its revolutionary cystic fibrosis drug, Trikafta, have created a deep and unjust divide. As a result, the treatment is out of reach for most South African patients. The commission dropped its initial probe into Vertex in…
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Affordable TB Medicines: South Africa’s Patent Battle
South Africa’s battle for affordable TB medicines echoes the country’s earlier struggle to expand access to HIV treatment. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, South Africa faced an uncontrolled AIDS epidemic. The crisis was worsened by the government’s rejection of the scientific consensus on HIV/AIDS. Under former President Thabo Mbeki, many public-sector patients were denied access to life-saving antiretroviral…
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Competition Commission and J&J reach TB drug agreement
The Competition Commission has reached a landmark agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, under which J&J will not enforce its patent on a crucial tuberculosis (TB) drug in 134 low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, J&J will reduce the drug’s price for South Africa’s Department of Health by approximately 40%. This decision not to enforce the…