Private health market will not get treatment
London's private healthcare market will not be subjected to further remedies, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided.
The Competition Commission, a predecessor to the CMA, started a market investigation into private healthcare in April 2012, which reported in April 2014 and required HCA International Limited, the largest private hospital operator in central London, to sell one or two of its hospitals.
An appeal was lodged with the Competition Appeal Tribunal due to errors in the original report’s statistical analysis.
The CMA has since weighed up imposing stronger constraints on HCA’s relationships with consultants but chose not to act despite finding the market does require more competition.
“We … considered other remedies, such as a price control, but found that none would be effective and proportionate,” said Roger Witcomb, chairman of the Private Healthcare Market Remittal Group.