UK: Tribunal sides with private healthcare groups following CC report

The UK’s Competition Appeals Tribunal dealt a blow to the Competition Commission this week, ruling that the competition regulator is acting anti-competitively against private hospital groups, say reports.

The Commission recently released a report following a market inquiry of the private health sector, revealing findings that premiums were too high due to lack of competition.

Now, the Tribunal found the Commission blocked private healthcare groups from accessing the information upon which the Commission made its claims and were therefore unfairly prevented from adequately defending themselves, say reports.

Specifically, the Commission’s Disclosure Room and procedure for interested parties to obtain the regulator’s findings were found to be unfair.

In its ruling, the Tribunal unanimously found that the regulatory failed “to give the Applicants a fair opportunity to correct or contradict the Commission’s Provisional Findings or to make worthwhile representations.”

Hospital group HCA applauded the Tribunal’s decision, accusing the Commission of attacking its prices “without revealing how their conclusion was drawn.”

HCA was one of the groups, including Spire, to back the original complainant, BMI Healthcare, against the Commission.

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