Discovery's market dominance means little incentive to drop prices, health market inquiry finds

  • 📰 SowetanLIVE
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 38 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 19%
  • Publisher: 63%

Deutschland Nachrichten Nachrichten

Discovery Health, which administers 18 medical aid schemes, makes profit that is 'multiples' of its competitors, according to the health market inquiry.

Ngcobo said: “They have substantial market share, over a consistently prolonged period. They have a high degree of market power and ability to control processes and maximise fees.”Trustees of medical aids are supposed to look after medical aid members' best interests, hold administrators to account and ensure they hire the most efficient administrators. But this was not what happened.

In fact, trustees and their bosses, who are known as principal officers, are paid for services every year regardless of performance, said Ngcobo. Because trustees are paid regardless of their performance, he said"there was little incentive for them to ensure the medical aid grows and that non-healthcare costs are appropriately maintained".

This means administrators can decide what to charge medical aids for services and are not held to account by the trustees, who can be paid millions annually. The inquiry recommended that medical aids all have one single base option and compete on providing better benefits to members, such as buying health care based on the quality of doctors and hospitals, rather than just based on cost.

 

Vielen Dank für Ihren Kommentar.Ihr Kommentar wird nach Prüfung veröffentlicht.
Wir haben diese Nachrichten zusammengefasst, damit Sie sie schnell lesen können. Wenn Sie sich für die Nachrichten interessieren, können Sie den vollständigen Text hier lesen. Weiterlesen:

 /  🏆 13. in DE

Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen

Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.

Discovery's market dominance means little incentive to drop prices, health market inquiry findsChair of the inquiry, Sandile Ngcobo, said the Discovery Health scheme did not face any real competition and made much higher profits than other medical aids.
Herkunft: TimesLIVE - 🏆 28. / 59 Weiterlesen »

No need to break up private hospital groups, says health market inquiryThe Competition Commission has backed down on its initial recommendation of divestiture for Netcare, Life Healthcare and Mediclinic
Herkunft: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Weiterlesen »