Healthcare inquiry launched

The Competition Commission would this week make public the terms of reference of the inquiry into the private healthcare sector, it said on Tuesday.

Former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, who heads the inquiry, would brief media about the investigation and the panel on Wednesday.

"The panel's mandate is to prove the likely causes of price increases and expenditures that tend to be above inflation in the private healthcare sector," the commission said in a statement.

The inquiry would make recommendations on appropriate policy and regulatory mechanisms to support accessible, affordable, and quality private healthcare.

It would also make recommendations on whether price setting mechanisms may be acceptable within the competition policy context, the commission said.