Health costs poll triggers PR headache for Labour

New Zealanders believe doctors fees have risen and elective surgery has become harder to get over the six years the Labour Government has been in power.

This is despite a 50 per cent increase in health spending, which includes the introduction of a primary health care strategy (partly completed) designed to reduce the cost of visits to doctors.

A Herald-DigiPoll found 53.1 per cent of people believed the cost of visiting a GP had increased and only 12 per cent believed it had decreased. A quarter of the people polled found no change.

Forty-nine per cent said elective surgery had become harder to get and 27 per cent said access remained the same.

The Herald this week investigated both doctors' fees and hospital waiting lists as part of its Informed Choice series.

It is clear that while some GPs are charging higher fees, those in Primary Health Organisations are gaining subsidies enabling them to provide cheaper visits to some groups of people.

The Government has targeted high needs areas and age groups first, but all people who join a PHO will get subsidised visits from July 2007 if Labour is returned.

National has not committed to the universal subsidy roll-out, suggesting it may restrict them to high-needs groups.

Ministry of Health figures showed the average cost of a GP visit in 1999 was $34. People with a Community Services Card got a $15 discount ($20 for children).

The average unsubsidised visit now costs $50.

However, hundreds of thousands of people in PHOs are now paying much less than $50.

Under sixes received free or cheap care in 1999 and continue to do so in PHOs.

A Consumer Institute survey this year found average prices in Access PHOs (which have higher subsidies) went from as low as $8.41 for patients aged 6 to 17 up to $17.60 for patients aged 18 to 64.

Interim practices (with lower subsidies) charged $19.33 for patients aged 6 to 17 with a community card and $21.5 for those without a card. Patients aged 18 to 64 without a card paid $45.76, with over 65s paying about $25.

In 2007 all people enrolled should get the type of subsidy being paid by Access PHOs, if Labour is in Government.

Health Minister Annette King says there has been a 14 per cent increase in medical discharges from hospital and an 8 per cent increase in surgical discharges.

"I'm not surprised by people's perceptions, because they're constantly bombarded with stories about people apparently having trouble gaining access, about this Government apparently not doing enough."

A 2004 Commonwealth Fund survey had found New Zealand performed "relatively highly" in terms of access to care, she said.

National health spokesman Paul Hutchison said: "Labour pledged free under-six care in 1999. My telephone around yesterday showed that even in the minister's electorate of Miramar at one PHO children under six had to pay $18 or $15."