National’s phrasing around tax cuts always sends me spare.
For instance working for families, which was essentially a significant tax cut to poor and middle class families so that in net terms they paid a lot less money to the Government has been described variously as wasteful spending or in an example of peak stupid rhetoric as communism by stealth by former National Party Prime Minister John Key.
National clearly believes that the amount of money paid by citizens to the Government should be reduced. But it appears that their biggest gripe is that the money was taken in the first place, and the fact that it may then be redistributed to ordinary people according to need is irrelevant.
Their response to the latest budget highlights this weird take they have on funding issues.
As part of budget 2023 Grant Robertson announced the ending of the $5 prescription for medicines.
In his budget speech he said this:
For some Kiwis, prescription costs are a barrier to receiving the healthcare they need, and lead to trade-offs with the purchase of other necessities. We know that in the 2021-22 financial year, 135,000 people did not collect their prescription because of the cost.
I am pleased to say that from 1 July this year we are removing the $5 prescription co-payment for all New Zealanders. This will reduce inequality in our health system and lead to better health outcomes for everyone.
The policy has compelling reasons. Too many people miss getting prescriptions because of the cost and this results in far more expensive hospital treatment when a set of pills could avoid this need.
This article from Radio New Zealand highlights the problem.
A New Zealand-based study published in January found “prescription copayments are likely to increase overall healthcare costs”, with the small fee discouraging people from collecting their medicines, and ending up needing hospital care as a result. The authors “strongly recommend that the $5 prescription co-payments be removed for those with high health needs and low incomes, or be scrapped entirely”.
“[Some people] go without their medicines, and as a result their health problems get worse, so they need hospital care. This is bad for them, their whānau, and the health system,” research lead Pauline Norris said.
Prescription charges have some history. The first Labour Government introduced free prescription charges, the fourth Labour Government and Roger Douglas reintroduced them. National in 1992 increased them to $20 per unit. The fifth Labour Government under Helen Clark decreased them to $3 per unit, and National under John Key increased them to $5.
More recently the advent of loss leading prescription free Australian owned Pharmaceutical chains has placed local pharmacies under significant strain. As well as improving health care this policy avoids the unhealthy dumbing down of the pharmacy sector.
As well as being very popular the policy is the right thing to do.
So what is National going to do?
How about promise to wind the policy back if elected. From Thomas Manch at Stuff:
The National Party says it will repeal the Labour’s removal of a $5 charge on medicine prescriptions if elected.
The scrapping of the $5 cost of prescriptions was one of the major spending initiatives in the Government’s 2023 Budget, published on Thursday, expected to cost $706m for the coming four years.
But it is among the plans most opposed by the Opposition.
National Party finance spokesperson Nicola Willis told Stuff National would return the $5 charge to prescriptions if elected, as it was a “nice to have should not be the priority”.
“I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the fact there are lower-income people for whom I don’t want prescriptions to be a barrier. Well, actually, there are already targetted ways of ensuring they don’t face prescription fees,” she said.
“And you have the Chemist Warehouse offering all prescriptions for free. So, in effect, the Government ends up subsidising that and also subsidising a lot of higher-income people who are perfectly happy to pay that charge.”
What I struggle to understand is how National can oppose the state not collecting money from individuals and letting them keep their hard earned cash. And the policy is targeted to those in need. The more unhealthy you are the more you will benefit.
So why is a tax cut good but a reduction in Government charges bad? Both will result in the individual paying the Government less money and I thought they would be pleased about this.
Besides National’s opposition is strategically a very silly move. For the rest of the election campaign I can guarantee that the fact National will increase prescription charges if elected to Government will be stated many, many, many times.
But what do I know. I am just a soft hearted woke lefty. Although it seems that commentators from the opposite part of the political spectrum think the same.
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