National Favours privatised health care
HealthNational has revealed its prejudices of wanting to privatise health care and has set a path that would see them Americanising the New Zealand health system, Minister of Health Pete Hodgson said today.
“Its is astonishing to me that after eight years in opposition they still have no policy, only a discussion document. But a careful reading shows that they have resurrected their privatisation agenda, especially when it comes to elective surgery,” Pete Hodgson said.
Because DHBs are already full entitled to use private sector providers for elective surgical services, National’s stated desire to increase private sector provision can only mean that they intend to make funding contestable.
“At that point they gut the public health system and New Zealand begins a journey towards the US health system which is the most expensive in the world.”
Their liberal use of words like “choice”, “freedom” and “public-private partnerships” disguise an ideological aversion to a public health system, even though every western nation, except the US, accepts that a public system always delivers good health more effectively than a private one,” Pete Hodgson said.
“Instead of better, sooner, more convenient they should have been honest and said more expensive, more American and more of the same from National.” Pete Hodgson said.
Contact: Vikki Carter Press Secretary 04 471 9918 cell 021 226 9918