ACT using parliamentary funds to mislead public

ACT needs to clean up its game and stop using Parliamentary funds to mislead the public in their so-called 'surveys' to the householder Jim Anderton said today.

In ACT's recent 'Health Survery' sent to the Householder and paid for with Parliamentary funds, ACT makes the claim that GPs are paid 20% more to see Maori and Pacific Island patients than non Maori or Pacific Island patients.

"ACT either hasn't done its research or it is deliberately misleading the public and using Parliamentary funds to do so. GPs are not paid 20 per cent more on the basis of race.

"The facts are that Public Health Organisations get funding support based on the needs of the patients who they are caring for. The PHO itself will be given up to 20 per cent extra funding if they operate in an area of high needs patients, or patients that have historically been missing out on primary care.

"The funding is aimed at improving access for high needs patients, those that are living in deprived areas, Maori and Pacific Island peoples. That is because it is clear from morbidity and mortality data that Maori, Pacific Island people and people residing in deprived areas suffer from more health problems, and die younger than other New Zealanders.

"This is clearly a policy of needs based funding for health care. If ACT can't state the facts in their leaflets then they should not degrade the Parliamentary Crest by using Parliamentary funding to mislead the public. This sort of erroneous propaganda should not be funded by the taxpayers and the so-called perk busters party should be the first in line to call a halt to it.

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