PHOs unfair and forced on communities

PHOs unfair and forced on communities

The opening of several new Primary Health Organisations (PHO) today is not the celebration that the Government would have communities believe, says National Associate Health Spokesperson Judith Collins.

"The funding of PHOs is unfair because it is race and location-based, rather than based on the health needs of patients. The Government has already admitted that this system is unfair but it continues to promote it.

"Patients whose GP practice doesn't join a PHO miss out on access to subsidised health care, while others who might not need subsidised health care will get it automatically.

"National would improve patient access to cheaper doctor visits by spreading funding equally across the country and basing it on patient need.

"What rural areas need is more GPs and incentives for them to stay in rural areas, rather than an unfair system being forced on them that will become a bureaucratic nightmare for doctors," Ms Collins said.

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