Election 2017 - Party Policies - Health
27th May 17, 9:41am
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Health
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- Maintain the health budget at per capita levels. We will not cut the health budget.
- Reform the DHB system, reducing the number of health districts from 20 down to 5, and ensure that Board Members are appointed for their expertise and experience, rather than elected to make political points.
- Raise awareness of mental health services.
- Allow more innovation in health, by getting government out of the way. This will enable more New Zealanders to access new treatments from overseas, sooner.
- Read more here and here.
- The Green Party acknowledges te Tiriti o Waitangi and the status of health as a taonga.
- The health care system must be publicly funded to ensure everyone can access healthcare services, regardless of their ability to pay. Health care must be available at the earliest stage possible to optimise treatment outcome, quality of life and cost effectiveness.
- Other social factors and policies, and the environment, have a greater impact on overall health status than direct health services; health in turn shapes capacity to participate in all other aspects of life.
- In general, health services should be planned and funded to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and to ensure further health gains for those with the highest health needs. In practice, this means a high priority on preventative care, children's health, and people with high health needs. Children must be considered within the context of their family.
- To be effective for all members in society, publicly-funded health services must be flexible and diverse to meet the different needs of people of different ages, cultures, financial & social resources, and stages of physical and mental health.
- Read more here.
- Reverse National’s health cuts and begin the process of making up for the years of underfunding that have occurred.
- This extra funding will allow us to invest in mental health services, reduce the cost of going to the doctor, carry out more operations, provide the latest medicines, invest in Māori health initiatives including supporting Whānau Ora, and start the rebuild of Dunedin Hospital.
- By the end of the four year forecast period, Labour will invest $8 billion more in health than was proposed in PREFU 2017.
- Commit to beginning construction of the new Dunedin Hospital within our first term.
- Read more here, here, and here.
- Establish a Māori/Pasifika Health Commissioning Unit to identify health needs, evidence based interventions and approaches, and then prioritise funding to any organisation that can deliver the best contribution to outcomes.
- Establish a new Māori and Pacific social investment fund managed by the Māori Pasifika Health Commissioning Unit, funded through a mix of Government direct investment, reprioritisation of poor existing expenditure within Ministry of Health.
- Direct Pharmac to explicitly seek to address the disparity in health outcomes for Māori and Pasifika when funding decisions are made.
- Ensure Māori and Pasifika are actively positioned to take advantage of industry advances in health and social sector technologies, through the Equity Accord not just as end users - but as developers also.
- Secure the status of rongoā and other natural health products.
- Read more here and here.
- Make it easier for 600,000 low-income New Zealanders to visit their GP before a condition deteriorates by offering Community Services Card holders cheap GP visits capped at $18.
- Thousands more New Zealanders with lower incomes and high housing costs will also receive the other benefits of the Community Services Card, which includes cheap prescriptions, free emergency dental care and free glasses for children.
- Invest in hospital infrastructure.
- Establish a School of Rural Medicine to support rural New Zealand.
- Implement our new mental health and addiction plan.
- Read more here.
- Establish a public health compact stipulating the guaranteed minimum services the public can expect from the public health system and its overlap with the private sector.
- Use a range of measures to ensure the adequate recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas.
- Require consistency in the provision of emergency health services such as ambulance and helicopter services and ensure the adequate funding of a core of fulltime employees and support for volunteers.
- Explore options associated with boosting uptake of private health insurance, including the provision of tax rebates for those with private health insurance.
- Review Pharmac's funding policy; and change Pharmac’s legislation and provide funding to treat people with life-limiting and rare conditions (1:10,000 persons).
- Make foreign patients within our public health system pay their fair share.
- Read more here.
- UnitedFuture believes that maintaining wellbeing is fundamental to the quality of life of all individuals and families;
- Health policy should be as focused on prevention as much as cure – UnitedFuture therefore encourages healthy lifestyle choices;
- Encouraging personal responsibility without impinging access to quality healthcare
- Access to treatment should happen in a timely manner and include access to all health facilities and services across New Zealand.
- Read more here.
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