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2010 Media Releases

Southern Cross welcomes media inquiries about any health related topics. Please contact:

Aimee Bourke, Communications Manager

Southern Cross Healthcare Group
Phone 09 925 6412; Mobile 021 410 411

aimee.bourke@southerncross.co.nz

Jul7

Southern Cross welcomes lab test charges decision

7/7/2010 11:18:00 AM by Aimee Bourke

Southern Cross Healthcare Group welcomes Health Minister Tony Ryall’s decision to end lab test charges for private patients.

The not-for-profit Healthcare Group, which represents over one million New Zealanders as members and patients, said the policy could have penalised people who were already paying twice for their health care - through taxes and health insurance as well as those paying for private care out of their own pockets.

“The news will be a great relief to our members, particularly those thousands who formally voiced their concerns about the introduction of charges for privately referred patients,” said Southern Cross Healthcare Group CEO Dr Ian McPherson.

“Mr Ryall has provided especially good news for patients who otherwise may not have accessed necessary treatment due to the costs of private lab charges.

“The withdrawal of DHB subsidies for private specialist laboratory tests amounted to cost-shifting to private patients and was not supported by evidence of the expected benefits it aimed to achieve for the wider health sector.”

Charges were introduced in 2006, and though just two regions implemented the initiative, Southern Cross data shows that the volume of health insurance claims for lab tests significantly increased in the years following.

In the period December 2007 – December 2009 the amount paid out to members grew from $15,343 to $549,531 and the volume of these claims grew from 665 claims in 2007 to 9,072 in 2009. The majority of these claims came from the Wellington region.

Charging patients who had been privately referred by specialists for lab tests began with the Capital and Coast DHB and Hutt Valley DHB in 2006 and was followed by Tairawhiti DHB in Gisborne. DHBs in the South Island and Auckland were considering the move prior to the Minister's announcement.

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