The party also criticised the regulations for failing to address the root causes of escalating private healthcare costs.
The DA urged the public on Sunday to submit comments on the proposed block exemption regulations.
These will allow healthcare stakeholders to collectively determine service tariffs, diagnosis and treatment codes, and quality metrics.
DA spokesperson on health, Michele Clarke, raised concerns that the regulations would not achieve their intended goal. Specifically, they would not make private healthcare more affordable.
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Concerns over parliamentary oversight
The party further argued that the healthcare stakeholders could sidestep necessary legislative oversight and result in unintended consequences for both providers and patients.
“We believe that the Competition Act cannot be used to, in effect, establish a health policy framework. This bypasses parliamentary oversight,” Clarke said.
“Health policy and legislation need to be established through parliament’s legislative structures.”
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Regulations go beyond addressing competition
The DA warned that the proposed regulations go beyond addressing competition within the private healthcare sector.
Instead, attempt to regulate aspects such as:
- Coding structures
- Quality measurements
- Medicine formularies
- Treatment protocols.
Clarke stressed that these elements should fall under health policy, legislation, and regulations rather than competition law.
“Not only do these regulations overreach, but they completely ignore the complexity of the problem. This complexity was identified by the Health Market Inquiry Report,” she said.
“The proposed regulations ignore the deep structural flaws in the current system. They might even lead to supplier-induced demand to mitigate the regulations.”
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Call for structural reform
The party also criticised the regulations for failing to address the root causes of escalating private healthcare costs.
Clarke emphasised that meaningful change could only be achieved through comprehensive structural reform.
“While the regulations no doubt come from a place that has the best interests of private health patients in mind, they will not benefit them,” she said.
“The problems will not be solved in this way. The only way to prevent ever-skyrocketing private healthcare costs is complete structural reform. This reform must benefit both the sector and its patients. These regulations are merely putting a plaster on a septic wound.”
The DA encouraged South Africans to submit their comments and objections to the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition before the deadline on 31 March 2025.
Submissions can be emailed to Dr Ivan Galodikwe ([email protected]) or delivered by hand to the 3rd Floor, Block E, 77 Meintjies Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria.
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