The Competition Commission (‘the Commission’) of Mauritius has concluded that these two agreements are null and void. Therefore, a fine of Rs 11,3 million has imposed for the companies which have been found to be in breach of the Competition Act 2007.
Following an investigation by the Executive Director, the Commissioners of the Commission have determined that 2 agreements between members of the Association of Private Health Plans and Administrators (“APHPA”) pertaining to medical insurances and medical schemes are in breach of the Competition Act 2007 (the “Act”).
The first agreement found in breach of the Act is the agreement among the members of the APHPA on a common scale of costs insofar that it concerns inpatient gynecological treatments. The other agreement concerns a common policy pertaining to reimbursement of overseas treatment.
The parties to the investigation collaborated on the matter and, without admitting liability, have accepted the findings of the Executive Director and the Commissioners.
The Executive Director of the Commission, Mr. Deshmuk Kowlessur, highlighted that private health expenditure represents more than 50% of the total health expenditure. So, the medical insurance/scheme is important in ensuring that patients get access to private medical facilities when required, as is competition among providers. “It must be ensured that private medical insurance/scheme providers supply the best services for the benefit of insured patients. Collusive agreements among insurers may reduce such competition and thus, it would be detrimental to insured patients. The Common Scale of Cost was the salient assessment of the investigation,” he added.
