Private hospitals warn of job losses

Private hospital groups would remain a catalyst for job creation in South Africa’s health-care sector as the country moved towards the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, health economists said yesterday. A study, commissioned by the Hospital Association of SA (Hasa) and undertaken by independent economic research groups Econex and Quantec Research, sought to quantify the economic contribution of Hasa members, which provide over 85 percent of South Africa’s private hospital capacity. It showed that the hospital groups directly and indirectly supported an estimated 218 000 jobs in 2010, contributing R52.2 billion, or 2.2 percent, to gross domestic product. Private...