by Susan Edmunds
HFANZ prepared a briefing paper for new Government ministers after the election.
It warned about the unsustainable growth in public health costs and said the looming health financing problem posed a bigger threat than increasing numbers of retirees drawing Government super.
HFANZ said a quasi-independent forum modelled on the Commission for Financial Capability could be part of finding a solution to health funding because the debate would be de-politicised.
Chief executive Roger Styles said politicians were reticent to admit there was a problem: “It doesn’t make good politics to say the Government can’t do everything.”
He said an independent Health Financing Commission could be set up with reasonably defined terms of reference, premised on promoting wider engagement and discussion of options to address the projected rise in public spending on health.
The HFANZ paper suggests health insurance could feasibly fund 10% to 15% of total healthcare spending, up from 5% at present.
Styles said something needed to be done because politicians were avoiding talking about health funding.
“It would take the debate out of the Government’s hands to have an independent commission debate the problem and build a consensus around when and how much people will have to provide for themselves. If they don’t have the debate in 10 years there will be big cuts and people will be unprepared.”
He said, even if the Government was not on board, a commission could be pulled together by interested third parties.
“Research suggests New Zealanders are aware that they will have to pay but they are not aware of how much and what that will mean in practice,” he said.
Moves such as user charges or part charges for hospital care were not going to cover the shortfall in funding, he said.
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