The decision addressed three petitions with similar facts. In all three cases, the petitioners were diagnosed with cancer and prescribed a medication not included in the health services basket available under the national health care services (which was prohibitively expensive to purchase individually). By the time two of the petitions came to the Court, however, …Read more

This case involved the regulation of fees for the dispensing of medicines by public and private pharmacies. The first Applicant (the Minister) had made and published the Regulations Relating to a Transparent Pricing System for Medicines and Scheduled Substances (the Regulations) under the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 (the Medicines Act). The …Read more

The Competition Commission (Commission) initiated an investigation into the conduct of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) in relation to the setting of tariffs for health care services provided by its members. SAMA is a non-profit association that is the representative association of medical practitioners in South Africa. SAMA dealt with both professional and business …Read more

Applicant Mr. Zdzislaw Nitecki was a Polish national diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 1976. In June 1999, he was prescribed the drug Rilutek to treat his ALS. He appealed to the Kujawsko-Pomorski Health Insurance Fund (“Fund”) to reimburse his out-of-pocket costs, noting that, as a pensioner, he …Read more