Katlego Sekhu
- South Africa’s private healthcare sector is increasingly being criticised for prioritising profit over patients.
- A new investigation by Open Secrets reveals how billions are paid out to shareholders
- As debates around the NHI Bill intensify, questions about transparency, regulation, and the role of state investment in private healthcare are coming under sharper focus.
South Africa’s two-tier health system is once again under scrutiny. In the latest instalment of Who Owns South Africa, Open Secrets has turned its focus to private medical aids and hospital groups.
From lucrative investments to monopolised care, the investigation exposes who is cashing in on the country’s sick and how that deepens the divide in access to quality healthcare. With the NHI Bill still under debate, this exposé could not be more timely.
Point of view with Phemelo spoke to Open Secrets’ Head of Investigations, Michael Marchant, about the money, the monopolies, and the future of South Africa’s health system.
Marchant noted that private healthcare has increasingly become a way to make money quickly.
“Medi-Clinic, Netcare and Life, those three private hospital groups alone account for about 90% of all private hospital admissions. And that gives them a lot of control over pricing.”
He explained that while hospital groups claim to want to cut costs, each year billions of rands are paid out to shareholders. Marchant also pointed out that although medical schemes insist they are not-for-profit, their administrators are commercial entities that operate for profit.
“There is significant ownership and control on both sides of supply and demand. We need stronger regulation and more transparency in how pricing is set.”
He also raised concerns about Mediclinic’s AI strategy, which could soon be rolled out in its foreign holdings.
“They have made it clear that this is their general direction. It takes us back to the financialisation of healthcare. Decision-making has become almost exclusively about short-term financial interests and cutting costs wherever possible.”
Marchant further highlighted the government’s vested interest in private healthcare.
“One of the major shareholders in South Africa’s private health sector is the state itself, through the Public Investment Corporation. While these strategies are being introduced, the state also stands to gain.”
To hear the full discussion, listen to the podcast.
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