Scope of competition law in relation to patient contribution regulations

Submissions were received from several parties who considered that the Ministry of Health and Insurance's regulations on patient co-payments breached competition law. The Ministry considered that the submissions should be dismissed as they fell outside the scope of competition law. For this reason, the department would not comment on the submissions in substance. The Competition Council considered it necessary, due to the department's position, to make a decision on whether healthcare services and the operation of hospitals fell within the scope of the competition law. The ministry argued that the interpretation of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Competition Act was determined by the explanatory memorandum accompanying it in the bill, such that its meaning was in fact much narrower than its wording suggested. The Competition Council did not agree with this. The wording of the explanatory memorandum had to yield insofar as it was inconsistent with the clear and unequivocal wording of the statutory provision and the will of the legislature.

In light of the foregoing, the Competition Council required that the Ministry of Health and Insurance provide a substantive opinion on the above-mentioned submissions, so that as many viewpoints as possible could be taken into account in their resolution.