1. LESLEY SOPER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What recent reports, if any, has he received on the cost of accessing health care?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
I have seen a recent report noting that under the Labour and Progressive Government the cost of visiting one’s local general practitioner has plummeted. The average cost of visiting the doctor is now just $26. Kiwi families are saving about $500 a year as a result of this Government’s approach to funding primary health care. By contrast the National Party said it would “knock it on the head”, and if general practitioner fees go up Mr John Key thinks the market will “fix the problem”, and that people will “go down the road”. It is no wonder Kiwis do not trust him or them.
As a matter of fact, just by coincidence I have. This is a report that says the National Party will continue funding primary health care “in the short term”. That sounds like the National Party’s pledge to sell Kiwibank “eventually”. The report is from the National Party’s health policy, which I just happen to have a copy of here. When the National Party says in public that it will keep funding health care in the short term, it is once again saying something else behind closed doors. National’s Jonathan Coleman just recently told a public meeting in Auckland that he thought “GP fees aren’t high enough”.
Dr Jonathan Coleman Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. If the member makes an assertion like that, he should back it up with proof, because that is completely untrue and a lie.
Madam SPEAKERThat is not a point of order. There is a general debate coming up. I remind Ministers that their answers should be short, as should the questions. Are there any further supplementary questions?
Yes, as a matter of fact I have. It is in the National Party policy. I have received a report suggesting that money should be taken out of the public health sector and put into subsidising the profits of corporate health insurers. The report proposes tax rebates for those who can afford private health insurance, effectively locking in a two-tier health system where those who can afford private health insurance are rewarded and everyone else gets left behind. Once again, that proposal came from the National Party’s health policy, yet to be released—except to us, of course—which we have. It is clear that National is more interested in creating profit-making opportunities for private health insurers than it is in providing public health-care services for the rest of New Zealand.
Can he confirm that tax rebates for those with private health insurance would do little to increase the quality of health care provided to the vast majority of New Zealanders and would, in fact, simply provide financial reward to those who already have access to the private health sector?
What I can confirm is that for someone around age 70 who is on a retirement income, it costs $1,500 for health insurance, and the National Party is going to provide a subsidy for that for those who can afford $1,500 a year, and the rest of New Zealanders who cannot will have to fall around trying to get what is left of the public health sector, after those people have finished with it.
Has the Minister seen any reports suggesting that instead of funding prescription medicines through an independent agency such as Pharmac, political leaders should have a greater role in determining which drugs are available and which drug companies win contracts?
I would not go as far as to call them political leaders; I would call them politicians. But I have a report suggesting that the independence of Pharmac would be overruled by a future National Government. It seems National MPs think they know better than the medical experts who currently make decisions on which drugs to fund. The risks are pretty obvious to me: would you like the front bench on the other side deciding who gets drugs and who does not, or would you like the present system that this Government operates.
I seek leave to lay on the Table a report of Mr Jonathan Coleman’s remarks about supporting his leader, and his attitude towards private health-care.