The Competition Commission’s Health Market Inquiry (HMI) panel has decided to delay the release of its provisional findings and recommendations report to June 28.
This will afford HMI experts sufficient time to assess and interrogate submissions raised by stakeholders which were recently submitted to the HMI.
The provisional report had previously been scheduled to be published on May 31.
The HMI opened a data access room to stakeholders to facilitate a fair opportunity for them to comment on the published expenditure analyses reports and to allow stakeholders’ external experts and advisers access to the underlying confidential information and data.
Therefore, additional time was required by these stakeholders to complete their analyses, to be able to fully respond to the HMI expenditure reports. In the interests of procedural fairness and to ensure that the inquiry process has been thoroughly validated, the HMI panel decided to delay the release of the provisional report.
The HMI has taken steps to reassure stakeholders of the integrity of the process to prevent any further delay that may result from legal disputes.
The panel will hold a press conference on June 28, during which the HMI panel chairperson Justice Sandile Ngcobo will officially present and release the provisional report to stakeholders and the public.
Ngcobo will also provide details on the stakeholder comment period allowed for the provisional report. Additionally, the report will provide a further opportunity for engagement with stakeholders before the final report is released.