3. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What initiatives has the Government implemented to ensure all New Zealanders have access to affordable primary health care?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) Link to this
In addition to our work to lower the cost of seeing a doctor for all families, the Labour-led Government’s extra investment in general practices that charge very low fees has proven to be more successful than originally expected. Two hundred and twelve practices have taken up the new funding. That is a higher number than the 166 projected to do so. Most of those practices serve high-need communities, and I am delighted that the Government has been able to assist in ensuring their financial stability.
The initiative is being implemented primarily to support general practices that charge low fees, not to lower fees for patients. However, the Government’s investment does mean that over 7,600 New Zealanders will have secure access to doctors’ visits at a cost of no more than $15 for adults, $10 for those aged under 18, and nothing at all for those aged under 6. From 1 July next year all New Zealanders will have access to low-cost primary health care. That is what a Government can achieve when it puts the health of families before reckless tax cuts.
Barbara StewartWhat work, if any, has the Ministry of Health done towards ensuring that the mean amount charged for general practitioner visits for children under 6 is zero, given that some parents face charges of up to $45 for a service that is supposed to be free?
It is true that National, with help from New Zealand First as I recall it, long ago introduced zero fees for under-6-year-olds. Regrettably, it managed to get the contracting wrong, and as a result of that a number of doctors—not too many—charge more than zero. The median level is zero, but the mean level is more than zero, and this funding will reduce it a little.