SAPA

MOST private hospital groups will maintain their tariff increases at the consumer inflation rate, according to Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. Speaking after a meeting with the Board of Healthcare Funders last week, Tshabalala-Msimang said the department had met several private hospital groups in the past week. They had agreed to review their tariff increases. The Minister said that some agreements had been made, but the exercise would continue as there were still more groups to meet. She said two private hospital groups had already lowered their tariffs, but would not be drawn into naming them. The breakthrough in the past week followed a meeting Tshabalala-Msimang had with the chief executives of private hospital groups on January 11. After that meeting they undertook to reconsider their tariff increases. At the BHF meeting, principal officers of various medical schemes expressed concern that most schemes had increased their contribution above inflation. The increases range between 9 percent and 15 percent. Tshabalala-Msimang said that the medical schemes had also committed to an in-principle decision to review their tariff increases and align them with the consumer price index (CPIX) for those schemes whose 2008 increases were higher. Another meeting would be held soon for the schemes to give a progress report on these reviews.