Health Inquiry kicks off with "Call for Submissions"
Pretoria - The Private Healthcare Inquiry Panel has today issued a "Call for Submissions" to all those who wish to participate in the Market Inquiry. The Call for Submissions comes after the Panel, having considered public comment, finalised and published the Administrative Timetable, Statement of Issues and Guidelines for Participation.
The invitation to all stakeholders to make full submissions to the Panel is another key milestone in the Inquiry, which is now entering its crucial investigative phase. The Panel urges participants to make full and detailed submissions at the outset, and looks forward to the same level of interest and cooperation that has been demonstrated to date.
The Panel is particularly interested in submissions on the key issues identified in the Statement of Issues, read with the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry.
The matters identified in the Statement of Issues include, but are not limited to:
Factors driving costs, prices and expenditure in private healthcare;
Market power and distortions of competition at various levels of the sector;
Barriers to entry and expansion by firms at various levels of the sector;
Factors limiting access by consumers to private healthcare, including affordability;
Imperfect information as it affects consumers as well as firms in the sector;
The impact of the regulatory framework (including various statutes, regulations and rules) on competition in private healthcare;
The specific impact of interventions previously made by the competition authorities in regard to the healthcare sector;
The interaction between the public and private healthcare sectors.
"We are encouraged by the level of interest and participation in the Inquiry thus far and would like to urge all those affected by the Inquiry to familiarise themselves with these documents, and to take this opportunity to engage fully and openly with the Inquiry" said Clint Oellermann, Inquiry Director.
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