Slindile Khanyile: Business Report,

THE competition commission supports the National Health Amendment Bill and will not prosecute anyone implementing it for contravening competition rules, according to Nandi Mokoena, the commission's strategic relations co-ordinator. Mokoena was responding to the Hospital Association of SA (Hasa) argument that the bill would introduce price setting, which was anti-competitive. Mokoena said the latest version of the bill was less anti-competitive than the first draft, and had taken the commission's comments submitted to the Health Department into consideration. She said that the bill was limited to just the prescribed minimum benefits and did not relate to all the services in healthcare. In the initial draft, the Department of Health wanted to set minimum prices, but the commission opposed that because it believed people should go as low as possible, said Mokoena. The bill makes a provision for parties to bargain collectively and individually, using the national health price reference list.