Politics - Dear Tony, don't cut the health budget!

A personal insight into New Zealand's Health System by Duncan Graner
Dear Tony Ryall,

I bet the miserable old Finance Minister has the pressure on. But Tony, please don’t make cuts in health.
I awarded you politician of the year last December.
Sure, you sacked administration staff – but you continued to say there would be more doctors and nurses on the frontline. It went down well.
But now you face the serious stuff. Our hospitals are jam-packed.
I have a story to share – it might help.
I’m writing to you from the couch in my Mum and Dad’s bedroom. My terminally ill 63 year-old Dad is lying in bed reading the newspaper. He’s my best mate.
But he’s riddled with cancer. It started in the kidney. You heard about him through the Beehive grapevine. You kindly ask him when I see you around Parliament. Thanks Tony.
Now he’s about to die. But this is not a plea for sympathy.
We’ve just returned from Wellington Public Hospital. Dad had a CT scan. The doctors think the cancer has spread to his brain. But his comprehensive private health insurance didn’t cover the cost of that scan.
So the doctors rushed him into the public system within a week.
The waiting room was chocker. There was an elderly couple, a middle aged guy, two single women and a Chinese couple. The appointment was 1.15pm. Dad was seen at 1.47pm. We had to wake him up. We’re waiting for the results.
It’s been like for 7 months. The system is stretched.
I thought Dad wouldn’t need public hospitals. He’s forked out tens of thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums over thirty-five years. He’s always been over-insured. He's always told us that you can never have enough insurance.
But guess what?
Southern Cross refused to pay for his first MRI scan 7 months ago. That was before we knew he had cancer. He had a bloody sore back. Dad was referred by his GP.
Southern Cross was stubborn. It wanted one of its preferred doctors to make the recommendation before paying a cent.
So Dad paid. The fight continued. He got $1500 dollars back. The full cost was $3500.
It’s been like this for months. Southern Cross paid for half the cost of his kidney to be removed – as his policy stated. That was done in a fancy private hospital – called Wakefield.
“Like a 5 star surgery,” he reckons.
The only poor people in there are the cleaners.
They and most of the country visit the public hospital.
Dad then needed a special kind of chemo pill - $40,000 for six treatments. But it wasn’t covered by the public or private system.
He took two rounds. They didn’t work. These pills offer false hope anyway – they drain your wallet and your energy.
I rang a woman who got $10,000 for the same pills from her insurer by writing and begging. She told me what to write. After weeks of tricky letters – Dad got about $4000.
Tony, there are two systems in New Zealand.
If you have money you go private. But it’s still a seriously limited system. It makes you beg and angst. They’re pricks – as if dying isn’t hard enough.
As Dad lies here in his final months he’s still paying $250 a month in premiums.
That’s to cover the cost of his prescriptions.
But he’s largely given up on private insurers. They can’t do anything anymore.
They probably don’t want to. And then there’s the stretched public system. It’s not too bad. You see, Tony, it’s your strained public hospital in the Capital that’s looking after Dad. It’s been like that since the beginning.
The people are great. It’s all about people.
They could never give dates for elective surgery. That’s why he went private. But he has no gripes. Mum’s slightly less charitable. She reckons they were dicked around in the public system a couple of times.
The hospice across the road is a different story though. It’s half funded by the Government - half by donations. But why the hell isn’t it fully funded? The staff there are angels. The care is amazing.
So Tony, I guess what I’m saying is – don’t cut the health budget. I know it won’t affect Dad if you do – he’ll be elsewhere.
But the publicly funded services he’s received – the home help, nurses, counsellors, doctors and volunteers in Wellington are amazing. We even know their names.
Dad has become close to them. But he can’t recall the name of one person within the private system.
Oh yes, Gaye, the nurse from Wakefield Hospital. But I suspect he only remembers her name because she’s my neighbour.
Dad worked hard all his life. He paid his taxes. The public system he helped pay for has been there for him. Thanks
He also paid bucket loads to his private insurer, Southern Cross. But it did the bare minimum. It made him battle for every cent. It’s not great for your health. It makes you want to cry.
There’s only one real health system Tony.
And that’s the one you are accountable for. The one we all turn to.
I hope you can make it better still.
Have a good Easter.
Kind Regards

Duncan Garner