SA has one of the world's most expensive private healthcare systems – WHO
South Africa has one of the most expensive private healthcare systems in the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) told a Competition Commission inquiry in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“Private hospital prices in South Africa are on par with prices in countries with much higher GDP levels – including the United Kingdom, Germany and France,” said Francesca Colombo, head of the WHO and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) health division.
South Africa spent 41.8% of total health expenditure on private, voluntary health insurance, more than any OECD country. However, only 17% of the population, mostly those with high incomes, could afford private insurance.
The organisation was making a presentation to the Competition Commission’s market inquiry into South Africa’s private healthcare sector. One of its aims was to increase market transparency.
Payments to specialists Colombo said figures from OECD countries indicated that a country’s wealth, as measured by per capita GDP, corresponded with higher price levels for hospitals.
Given that South Africa had the lowest GDP per capita relative to other OECD countries, it was expected that hospital prices in South Africa would be significantly lower.
“However, South Africa is an exception to this trend,” she said.
It was further established that general prices for goods and services in South Africa were 53% lower than those in OECD countries.
For selected hospital services, prices increased above the rate of inflation – on average by 6.5 percentage points per year – between 2011 and 2013.
According to figures, surgical services made up 54% of total claims to medical aids in 2011, increasing to 60% in 2013. Payments to specialists appeared to be driving this increase, Colombo said.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
