Harare, September 22, 2025 – Zimbabwe’s Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) has raised concerns over rising levels of vertical integration in the healthcare industry, warning that the practice threatens fair competition, consumer choice, and the overall quality of medical services.
According to the CTC, vertical integration—where medical aid societies and insurers expand beyond insurance provision to operate hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and laboratories—has created an uneven playing field. While these integrated models are often justified as cost-saving and efficient, regulators say they are stifling competition and disadvantaging independent healthcare providers.
The agency pointed to a range of practices by vertically integrated players that could restrict competition, including steering members exclusively to insurer-owned facilities, imposing steep co-payments or denying claims for services at independent providers, and charging higher tariffs at affiliated pharmacies and laboratories than those set by unaffiliated competitors.
Furthermore, vertical integration may also lead to restrictions on registering new service providers on payment systems and unilateral tariff reductions by integrated insurers, according to the CTC.
These actions, the CTC warned, amount to foreclosure of markets and preferential treatment of affiliated entities, effectively pushing smaller and independent providers out of business. The regulator stressed that vertical integration can lead to higher prices, reduced consumer choice, and diminished quality of care. Patients may be forced to use only the facilities linked to their insurer, limiting access to alternatives and discouraging innovation in the sector.
“By controlling both the financing and provision of healthcare, integrated players can distort market dynamics, reduce competition, and ultimately harm patients,” the CTC noted.
Zimbabwe’s Competition Act and the Medical Services Act prohibit restrictive practices such as exclusive dealing, discriminatory payments, and refusal to register eligible service providers. However, regulators acknowledged that existing loopholes still allow medical aid societies to operate healthcare facilities, creating potential conflicts of interest.
The authority urged stakeholders to report anticompetitive practices, such as forced referrals and restricted provider networks, for investigation.
Source: https://x.com/CTCZimbabwe/status/1970124938133885295
