I asked two questions in my first
blog, should the tax payers pay for a public health system, or should we all
take responsibility for our own health care? And, how does the payment of
health care affect the ability of lower income families to access health care?
I will be looking at my first
question in this blog, while also looking at the history of the Public Health Care
System in New Zealand to see how we got to where we are today.
I will be looking at the second
question in my next blog.
So, should health care be paid for
by the tax payers or should each individual take responsibility for their own
health care costs?
But first, what is public health,
in New Zealand? Te Ara, the encyclopedia of New Zealand defines public health as
“health services that are funded by government through taxation” (Pollock,2012, para. 4).
Timeline of the Public Health System we currently have in New Zealand
- 1872 the Public Health Act was established to set up health care in each province,
- 1876 health care was centralised, while local health boards were maintained,
- 1903 the Department of Health was formed,
- 1907 Plunket is formed by Dr Truby King,
- 1926 introduction of immunisations for children,
- 1935 hospitals visits became free,
- 1938 the Labour government introduces a “dualsystem” of health care, private and public health care systems working alongside each other,
- 1941 prescriptions are free,
- 1974 ACC is formed, a fund to provide for accident cover, rehabilitation costs and loss of income cover, the beginnings of a privately funded medical system,
- 1980’s sees the introduction of the neo-liberal free market economy model, effecting the health system, health care providers need to compete in the free market economy,
- 1990’s sees reforms ensuring that the health department is financially efficient and individualised health services,
- 2000’s public health becomes the priority, eg, smoke free policies, immunisation policies and Public Health Committee is formed.
This timeline is just a small snippet of the complete and complex picture. The information I have on the timeline are facts and dates I feel are important to show how New Zealand got the current Public Health System, and the formation of the partnership between public and private health care.
The current New Zealand health care system is primarily paid for by the tax payers. The government has a Ministry of Health that takes care of providing health care for all New Zealanders. The day to day running of the health system is done by District Health Boards (DHB). According to Bramhall (2003) NZ was
one of the first countries to have a universal health care system (para.
1).
However, New Zealanders can choose to pay for their own health care through private health insurance. In May 2012, 30% of New Zealanders had private
health insurance (Business Desk, 2012). Private health insurance in New Zealand covers
the user for any number of health services including a choice of health care provider,
while also having the perception of cutting down waiting time for elective
surgeries (Health Fund, 2010; enz.org, n.d).
The insured user pays a premium for their medical insurance cover
whereas the public health user pays no money for most health services and can access all
services provided by the DHB (Health Fund, 2010). Private health insurance users are nevertheless
able to access all publicly funded health services.
Health Fund Association (2010)
inform us that having a health system that is funded by both public and private
sectors is beneficial in a country as small as New Zealand, as it means people have
choices about which health services they use. However, Dare (2012) argues that the public - private partnership is not evenly balanced and furthermore, the private insurance system is working against the public health system to the private providers benefit.
Subsequently, I feel after researching
the health system to help inform this blog, the question of the health
system being paid for by the tax payers or individuals is a lot more complicated than I first thought. The public and private health sectors work
together for the greater good of the overall health system. The private health care system is for those
that can afford it, however if you need emergency medical attention in New Zealand you
will get the highest care the provider can deliver, whether you
have private medical insurance or not.
Therefore, the answer to the question is a little bit of both, people
who can afford it ought to have private insurance, because they are in a position
to take care of themselves subsequently lessening the load on the public system. Those
that cannot afford private health insurance should not worry about accessing adequate health
care, because the New Zealand government delivers a health system that will provide for
you.
References:
An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
(1966) Public health. Te Ara:
The encyclopaedia of New
Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/medical-services.
Bramhall, S. (2003). The New
Zealand health care system. Physicians
for a National Health
Program. Retrieved from
New Zealand private health
insurance uptake hits a 6 year low. (2012, May 23). NZ Hearld.
Retrieved from
Dare, T. (2012). Private versus public health insurance. Retrieved from
Enz.org.nz (2012). Healthcare for migrants to New Zealand – 12 must
knows. Retrieved
Health Funds Association of New
Zealand (2010). Fact file: Health insurance
in New
Zealand. Retrieved from
New Zealand Government. (n.d).
Ministry of Health. Retrieved from
Pollock, K (2012). Public health:
What is public health?. Te Ara: The encyclopaedia
of New
Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/public-health.
Plunket (n.d). Our history. Retrieved from
Southern Cross Healthcare Group
(n.d). Southern cross’ early years. Retrieved
from
Wikipedia (n.d). Ministry of Health (New Zealand).
Retrieved from
