Government offers reasurrance to private hospitals

“Our private sector, we know, provides world class healthcare services and this makes it all the more crucial to our national effort to promote quality healthcare for all,” he added. “To this end we are committed to engagement to plot the future and create a sustainable system.

“I know there are certain political groupings in our land who believe that there is no place for private healthcare - some say health shouldn't be private,” said Mseleku. “Despite what some may think and say, we don't believe that. As I have stressed, we see the private sector as being crucial, but not necessarily to the extent that its activities be determined by market forces alone. That is why there has to be regulation to maintain sustainability and affordability.”

Turning his attention to concerns about the “controversial” Draft Amendment to the National Health Act - and in particular the proposed introduction of a government -appointed agent to facilitate pricing negotiations to be known as the facilitator - the Director-General said these were unfounded: “Most of the concerns have been based on misinformed facts, much of which can be attributed to the not-so-friendly or cordial relationship the department has had with the private sector in recent times, and the resulting mistrust.”

The government's intended intervention in price negotiations has been perceived by many stakeholders as a move to introduce price fixing: “The Draft Amendment is not intended to introduce price fixing, but a fair process for parties to negotiate both individually and collectively.”

Mseleku told delegates that while he understood why there was such a general reaction to the Amendment, there was a clear conflict of interest reflected in the individual submissions on the Act presented to the department from the various sector stakeholders: “They made interesting reading with many accusing other stakeholders of being responsible for high prices.

“What I might suggest is that they, the private sector stakeholders, hold their own Indaba - like the minister convened in September last year on private healthcare costs - and sort out their own issues before the regulator regulates. “We are certainly committed to engagement to plot the future and create a sustainable system,” he added.

During the ensuing discussion, it was noted that there was confusion surrounding the government's insistence that its facilitating and arbitration role was a process - up to and including the setting of a maximum price in the negotiations - and its denial that the process does in fact amount to price fixing.

While the session ended without clarity on the issue, Werksmans Attorney's health and environment director, Neil Kirby, noted in a subsequent presentation on the legislation that there is nothing in the National Health Act Draft Amendment that sets tariffs, or prices mandatory to private hospitals: “But there will be a measure of price fixing involved with mandatory negotiations being converted into a maximum price.”