The proposed price increase in the tariffs of the private hospital groups is affecting the growth of the industry and people below poverty line would suffer the most.
The Health Minister of South Africa, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, asked the private hospitals not to put into practice the proposed price increase in tariffs for this year. Manto also said that the matter is under-discussion with the health department after receiving complaints of excessive increase in the tariffs of the hospitals, as reported by Allafrica.
The rise in the tariffs of the private hospitals is due to their unwillingness to discuss tariffs that are affordable to medical beneficiaries. The Council for Medical Schemes warned to take legal action against the private hospitals if they would not retreat from their stand of tariffs rise in the range 8% to 33%.
Industry experts also condemned this action of the private hospitals and believed that it is absolutely wrong to exploit cross subsidies in such a manner. On the other side, most of the private hospitals are insisting for rise in theatre and ward fees to offset the shrinking of profits they received from discounts or price hike on surgical equipments.
Steven Harrison, Senior Strategy Advisor at Council for Medical Schemes, said, “High costs impact on the sustainability of the medical aid environment. It is high time that rates are reviewed and practices must be challenged if they are found to be unlawful or unjustifiable,” as per the news published by Thetimes.
As per industry experts, the increase in private hospital tariffs is not in the interest of the nation and reflects hospitals indifference towards the national health system. The rise indicates towards the grim aspect of the hospitals and how irrationally the private healthcare segment works. The massive subsidies private hospitals receive on the medical and surgical equipments are also exposed. The evidences are indicating that the rebates hospitals get is not passed onto the patients.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The healthcare sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in South Africa but private hospitals are halting the growth of this industry. They are creating an unfavorable environment that could hamper the growth. The price increase is not good for the people living below the poverty line which constitute the biggest section of the country’s population.”
Related Market Research Reports:
Emerging Pharmaceutical Markets Globally
Global In Vitro Diagnostic Market Analysis
Booming US Generic Drug Market
