Dr Bryan Betty: General Practice Chair claims Government funding proposal isn't enough for GPs

GPs say a Government funding proposal is not enough.

Health New Zealand is suggesting a 4 percent increase in GP capitation funding, the money each practice receives for each enrolled client - and letting them raise fees by just under 8 percent.

The sector's warning some practices may go under.

General Practice Chair Dr Bryan Betty says studies have shown GPs have been up to 20 percent under-funded in the past two decades.

"All this does is go some way towards cost increases over the last year - it doesn't actually fix the underlying deficit, which is getting worse."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
GPS are rejecting the latest funding from Health New Zealand
saying it's inadequate. They're warning the crisis in the GP
sector is now so bad that some practices may even
go out of business. And Brian Betty is the chair
of General Practice New Zealand with us. Now, hey, Brian,
Oh hi, okay, So House New Zealand is offering you
this time around a four percent increase in funding and
then allowing you to put up your existing fees by
nearly eight percent. Is that not enough?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Oh? Look, there was a report done two years ago
called the Sapare Report that identified that over the last
decade of two there was an underfunding of general practice
between ten and twenty percent. So all this does is
go some way towards the CPI or cost increases over
the last year. It doesn't actually fix the underflying underlying

(00:46):
deficit which is getting worse over time.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Now, howth New Zealand obviously don't have the money, right
They don't even have the money to hire the necessary
staff to run the new building that they've opened at
north Shore Hospitals. They certainly don't have money for GPS.
So surely the only answer is simply to get you
a bet that let you charge us more. Is that
not the solution?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, that may be the solution, but unfortnately, what happens
in New Zealand is the government fixes the price increases,
so we for a general practice that has to compensate
by increasing fees to patients, which is something no practice
wants to do. They actually have to apply to the
government to Health New Zealand to have that approved. So
everything is actually capped by the government. So both what

(01:27):
they've give in terms of capitation, the underlying funding or
the subsidy plus what we can charge the patient. It's
not a free free market at all. It is capped
by the government.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
When is this going to get fixed?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, look, I mean the present minister has indicated that
his focus is on twenty five twenty six. He actually
understands the problem that has built up over the last
ten twenty years because this has been a long standing
issue that we have been raising with the government consistently,
and he set his focuses on next year's budget. So
we'll have to wait and see. But the issue at
the moment is there are a number of practices around

(02:02):
the country now that are actually operating at a loss.
There are gps out there at the moment who are
not paying themselves so they can continue to pay their staff.
The situation is actually getting worse and where we are
reaching a crisis with this ran.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
If gps could make up the money by charging us more,
how much more would they need to charge us?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, look, as I said, the Sapiro report indicated that
on average, most general practice and practices were underfunded to
the tune of ten to twenty percent. High needs practices
that is in rural areas or serving high needs high
needs areas were underfunded both between thirty four and two
hundred percent. It was quite outs of staggering what the

(02:47):
report indicated. So look at we'd have to increase substantially
and that's part of the issue, and that is obviously
not good for patients. For a lot of patients, they
can't afford those types of increases and certainly something we
don't want to see happen.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Brian, thank you very much, best to luck dealing with us.
It's Brian Beatty, the Chair of General Practice New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
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