Photo by: Duane Daws
The Competition Commission has extended the date by which it plans to complete a market enquiry into the private healthcare industry from November 30, 2015, to December 15, 2016, citing delays in accessing information from certain stakeholders.
According to the new timetable published in the Government Gazette, public hearings would start on February 1, 2016, and conclude on May 31, 2016.
The commission announced the launch of the investigation, currently in its information assessment and analysis phases, in January, citing its mandate to assess the general state of competition in a particular market and noting that it had reason to believe that there were features of the sector that prevented, distorted or restricted competition.
It had since sent out further information requests to over 160 stakeholders in the private healthcare sector, conducting detailed inquiries into healthcare access and competition concerns highlighted in submissions.
“The inquiry has, to date, received large volumes of data and information from stakeholders and the team has spent significant time meticulously analysing the data and information.
“However, in light of the extent of this inquiry . . . the commission has decided to amend the completion date . . . the scope of the inquiry remains unchanged,” it noted in a statement.