Government to find out hard lessons in health funding at first Budget
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson have a task ahead to deliver the Government's first Budget. Health as always, is likely to become the biggest thorn over time.
OPINION: Let's get a few things straight about health ahead of this Budget.
There will not be enough given to health – there will never be enough given to health. It's the catch-22 of a free service that there's no end to what citizens will expect to receive for free.
One only has to look at the competing demands that have filled column inches and airtime in the period where the Government is making the finishing touches on its first budget – protests and complaints of underfunding and underpayment from midwives and nurses.
Ahead of this week's budget the Education Minister has been trying to damp down expectations.
And now, doctors calling for the Government to abolish capital charges. There is money that is expected to be made in this change of Government.
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The Government's own message has been treading a line of poverty and tradeoffs, at the same time promising big figure spends to "undo the damage".
Health Minister David Clark has admitted that cheaper GP visits would not be introduced at least in full, this Budget.
On the one hand, it claims massive infrastructure problems will cost billions to fix – a red herring as much of that expenditure will be coming out of the capital expenditure budgets and not operational.
The Health Minister has also been vocal about increasing district health board (DHB) deficits, understaffing and the need to put off the release of its election promise, for cheaper GP visits, because there's not enough cash.
Meanwhile, a cool $1 billion has been handed to foreign affairs to expand and put weight behind the ambitious Pacific reset. It's a worthy spend and really, the amount of revenue unexpectedly amassed in the past six months – the political equivalent to cash behind the couch.
The Government will pump $42 billion into net capital spending over the next five years.
And if it was ever in doubt that Labour's health "underfunding" figure was political, then it would pay to look up this year's analysis on how much the Government will need to provide to avoid that mantle.
However, Labour has stopped publishing the data.
Midwives who say they're overworked, stressed and underpaid are marching on Parliament today to rally for better pay and conditions. The Health Minister, David Clark, who's said he's working to improve the midwifery sector, will be meeting the group, but won't be drawn on what funding they're likely to receive in the upcoming Budget. Nita Blake-Persen reports.
Labour in Opposition commissioned multiple years' worth of research to claim National had underfunded the health system by $1.7 billion, where separate CTU research put the figure closer to $1.4b.
That's based on all areas of Vote Health but at its core, the message was the underfunding of DHBs that were struggling to tread water and falling deeper into deficit.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has hinted that there will be some surprises and there could even be something related to GP visits. It could be more targeted than its universal policy to lop $10 off all visits.
The Government also campaigned on a policy to make all visits related to mental health free.There have been no hints as to whether that's in line for funding this year.
But if it gives the expected big figure to DHBs then that poses some restrictions for headline grabbing allocations as well. Whatever the Government gives DHBs, it has to give the same and then some the following year and it's money for day-to-day running.
It cannot be overly ring-fenced for flashy Government initiatives.
But the Government has talked itself into a slight corner, where if it doesn't deliver considerably more than the previous Government's funding track it will be accused of underfunding itself.
Worse, underfunding and hypocrisy.
An earlier version of this article said Labour and the CTU had conspicuously stopped publishing the data. However, CTU says it will do so ahead of Budget Day.
- Stuff
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