News

News

Spar Targets Wellness Market with 'Bespoke' Pharmacy Concept

08 Jan 2026
The Spar Group plans to expand its pharmacy front-shop offering by introducing a "bespoke wellness concept", reported Business Times (14 December 2025)
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Gems Medical Scheme Tariffs Spark Government Intervention

08 Jan 2026
Government has decided to intervene following the 9.8% tariff increase announced in 2025 by Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS). – Business Day (8 Jan 2026) Officials will engage with the scheme’s Board of Trustees regarding the "unaffordable tariffs".
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Motsoaledi Slams NHI Critics, Defends State's Legal Case for UHC

08 Jan 2026
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has strongly defended South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, expressing confidence that the state will prevail in ongoing legal challenges against the policy. – Business Day (14 Dec 2025)
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Discovery ‘tone deaf’ says members

08 Jan 2026
Members of Discovery Health Medical Scheme blame the scheme of being "tone-deaf" and lacking accountability regarding administrative failures. This follows the scheme’s decision that about 16 000 of its members must repay money due to a financial system error that led to incorrect payment of medicine claims. The error totals nearly R5,800 per member over 12 months.
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‘Austerity threatens collapse of specialist training’

08 Jan 2026
The Colleges of Medicine of SA (CMSA) has warned that provincial austerity measures are dismantling the country’s specialist training pipeline and threatening the sustainability of the public health, undermining constitutional access to quality healthcare and long-term workforce planning. – Business Day (15 Dec 2025)
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‘Several court battles set to shape SA’s legal landscape in 2026’

06 Jan 2026
Several high-stakes court battles are set to shape SA’s legal landscape in 2026, with the National Health Insurance (NHI) legislation at the centre of renewed Constitutional Court scrutiny. – Daily Maverick (31 Dec 2025)
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Removal of medical tax credits on the cards

17 Oct 2025
“With significant legal and logistical uncertainty still surrounding the NHI's implementation, making precipitous changes to the tax system could have unforeseen and damaging consequences for millions of South Africans.” - Business Day(17 October 2025)
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Pharma faces billions in costs due to new tariffs

29 Jul 2025
“The pharmaceutical industry is bracing for a significant financial blow, with analysts forecasting costs of between $13bn and $19bn following the revelation that a new transatlantic trade deal will subject branded medicines to a hefty 15% tariff.” – Reuters (28 July 2025)
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Life Healthcare backs collaboration to tackle healthcare crisis

27 Nov 2024
Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood has backed a call for greater collaboration between the government and private healthcare providers to address South Africa’s pressing healthcare challenges. This follows a proposal by Netcare CEO Richard Friedland, who suggested adding healthcare as the fourth pillar in an existing government-business partnership focused on revitalising the economy.
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Discovery Life claims back to pre-Covid levels

19 Apr 2024
“Discovery Life distributed R10.3bn to its clients, a decrease from the R11bn paid the previous year,” reported Business Day (19April 2024)
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Hundreds of websites found selling fake weight-loss drugs

16 Apr 2024
Reuters reported on 15 April that the cybersecurity company BrandShield has shut down over 250 websites selling counterfeit versions of popular drugs used for weight loss and diabetes treatment within the GLP-1 class.
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RAF bid to appeal judgment on claim requirements

06 Dec 2023
On 5 December 2023 the Pretoria High Court rejected the Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) request to reconsider a previous verdict from November, reported Business Day. “The ruling mandated eliminating the stringent new requirements for filing claims outlined in a 2021 board notice.”
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Covid-19 vaccines: ‘Health Department squandered the opportunity’

07 Sep 2023
“Health activists are right to draw attention to this grossly unfair situation. (Covid-19 vaccine deals) But the far bigger scandal is that the Health Department squandered the opportunity after spending an estimated R14-bn on Covid-19 jabs and belatedly filling its warehouses with enough doses to vaccinate the nation” – Business Day (7 September 2023).
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EDITORIAL: Health Minister must halt care crisis

20 Jan 2023

NHI, the government’s plan for universal health coverage, rests heavily on nurse-led care. Yet where these nurses will come from is a mystery. – Editorial (Business Day 20 January 2023).
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Study raises concerns about quality of hospital meals

12 Jan 2023

According to a study of meals served at Cape Town hospitals the food served to hospital patients are way below the health department “ration scale” and patients’ energy requirements, reportedFinancial Mail (12 January 2023).
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