On 15 October 2021 the Constitutional Court delivered a
precedent setting judgement on the role of the competition
authorities in promoting and protecting cornerstone socio-economic
rights contained in the Constitution.
The judgement in question, Competition
Commission of South Africa v Mediclinic Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
and Another, concerned the proposed acquisition by
Mediclinic of two private hospitals in the Potchefstroom/Klerksdorp
region. Upon consideration of the merger, the Competition Tribunal
(Tribunal) prohibited the merger in order to,
amongst others, safeguard the right of access to health care for
both insured and uninsured patients as, in the Tribunal's
view, the merger would have a significant effect on the healthcare
costs of both the insured and uninsured patients living in the
region. The basis of this argument was that the acquisition by
Mediclinic of the two target hospitals would result in those
hospitals following the same pricing models as
