Social Enterprises: A Promising Path for South Africa's Healthcare

Social Enterprises: A Promising Path for South Africa's Healthcare

On December 16, 2022, UnipolSai signed a deal to acquire Società e Salute S.p.A., the company behind the Centro Medico Santagostino network of clinics. This acquisition bolsters UnipolSai's presence in the Italian healthcare sector. Centro Medico Santagostino is a leading innovator in affordable, high-quality healthcare. They operate a network of 34 clinics with roughly 1,300 doctors, offering a unique model that prioritizes patient experience and accessibility.

Founded in 2009, the Centro Medico Santagostino was created to meet the growing and unmet need of a large part of the population: an affordable, high level specialist medicine, which also covers SSN (National Health Service) uncovered areas - such as dentistry, psychotherapy, speech therapy and others - where the offer is almost exclusively private and expensive.

Healthcare reform debates are a bit like trench warfare. People become entrenched in their ideologies, making it difficult to see the other side's perspective. On one hand, proponents of socialized medicine believe healthcare is a public good and should be provided for free to everyone. On the other hand, free marketers believe profit incentives in a market economy allocate resources more efficiently. Of course, each side believes they are the "good guys."

However, there is a group in the middle who believe in a hybrid approach, seeking the best of both worlds: social enterprises that combine the strengths of a market economy with the social goals of socialized medicine. Centro Medico Santagostino is one such business model. Centro Medico Santagostino is a social enterprise that seek to serve the market between public healthcare which is often underfunded and overcrowded and private healthcare which is often very expensive.

Healthcare budgets are under pressure worldwide and the support has being growing for social enterprises. They combine the best of market economy with a social mission.

Mark Cuban costplus is also revolutionizing pharmaceuticals in USA and is a social enterprise. Mark Cuban is an American billionaire entrepreneur, investor, and television personality. He is best known for being the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA basketball team, and for his appearances as an investor on the television show "Shark Tank." He started CostPlus to bring transparency to drug market.

Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company disrupts the traditional pharmacy industry with a cost-plus business model that benefits consumers by cutting out middlemen and offering transparent pricing. Here's a breakdown of the key elements:

  • Cost-Plus Pricing: Cost Plus Drug Company buys medications at wholesale price and applies a standard 15% markup to cover operational expenses and profit. This markup is significantly lower than the markups used by traditional pharmacies.
  • Eliminating Middlemen: Traditionally, medications go through pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who negotiate prices with drug manufacturers and pharmacies. Cost Plus Drug Company bypasses PBMs, reducing costs associated with their involvement.
  • Transparent Pricing: The company publishes the wholesale cost it pays for each medication and the 15% markup it applies. This allows consumers to see exactly what they're paying for.

Social enterprises have the potential to be game-changers in delivering healthcare worldwide, as evidenced by their success in many middle-income countries like India and Mexico. However, South Africa faces a hurdle: a lack of legislation specifically designed to encourage investment in social enterprises. Without tax breaks or other incentives, founding healthcare-focused social enterprises becomes challenging. Entrepreneurs must choose between non-profit organizations, which can struggle with long-term sustainability due to donor fatigue, or for-profit companies, which can be expensive to operate.

By fostering an environment that supports social enterprises, South Africa can unlock a powerful tool for improving healthcare access and affordability for its citizens.


Need funding for your practice? Use the link below to apply! https://lnkd.in/d3ADcQxD

Contact us now to explore our range of medical equipment tailored to your needs. Your patients deserve the best – let's make it happen together.

Contact www.lepekemedical.com

Get the answer you need today! Home paternity test is the simplest and fastest way to confirm whether an alleged father is the biological father of a child. This reliable paternity test results are 99.99% accurate and 100% confidential. use the link:

https://www.easydna.co.za/?afl=lepekemedical137

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics