Here comes the privatization of Pharmac – how will Government respond to Trump’s threat?
Here comes the threat from MAGA land to Australian public health…
…will NZ be next and how will our Right Wing Government with a privatisation agenda respond?
Pharmac CEO Sarah Fitt resigns after months of pressure
Pharmac’s chief executive has resigned following months of pressure.
The Pharmac board issued a statement on Friday saying Sarah Fitt would resign effective May 30, following 7 years in the role.
Asked if the board had lost confidence in Fitt, Pharmac chairperson Paula Bennett said “no, I wouldn’t say that”.
“I think that we had looked at the direction that we want to go in, and we’ve certainly been talking to her about what those changes might mean. But certainly it’s her decision to resign, and we wish her all the best for the future.”
I’m glad Fitt’s gone.
Her war with Rachel Smalley was bullshit, her commitment to patients was woeful and Patient Voice Aotearoa advocate Malcolm Mulholland was always scathing of her.
My fear now that Paula Bennett is running it is that we will see the privatisation agenda that is corroding all public services will start with whoever they replace her with, especially if America are openly threatening Australia.
If it’s some industry chump or some NZ Initiative pimp, you will know Pharmac is under attack.
Will Paula Bennett privatize Pharmac because Simeon Brown has just started!
The Greens make the point about Simeon’s new attack on public health…
This morning’s announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the country’s essential services.
“Our health system is falling victim to a slow death by a thousand cuts,” says Green Party Health spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon.
“All New Zealanders deserve a strong, robust public health system that is funded to spec, and able to provide high-quality, timely health services to all who need it.
“This Government has shown nothing but disdain for public health workers, dismissing their concerns, undermining unions, and outright stating that their pay equity is ‘not his job’.
“This is not about fixing a broken system. It’s about starving it of resources until privatisation looks like the only answer.
“The refusal of this Government to acknowledge public health as an imperative service, and to fund it in kind, has created an artificial crisis, and while Lester Levy has fallen victim to it today, ultimately, the New Zealand public will pay the price.
“This so-called ‘deficit’ was never a deficit; it was a direct result of underfunding. And now, instead of addressing the root cause, the Minister is turning to private care to plug the holes in a leaking system.
“Bringing in more private providers might sound like a quick fix, but it’s little more than an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. A cliff Simeon Brown is pushing our healthcare system over. Ultimately, funding for the private sector is funding that our public services desperately need. It will cost more, create more strain on public providers, and deepen the already existing inequities within our healthcare system.
“This is a clear step in the direction of ACT’s disgraceful vision of a fully privatised healthcare system, which we cannot, and will not, stand for.
“The Green Party campaigned on delivering a fully-funded, well resourced public health system with decent wages and conditions. All New Zealanders should be able to access timely and accessible diagnosis and treatment.
“Our plan will put New Zealanders’ health and wellbeing at the centre of decision-making and policy, where it should have been all along,” says Hūhana Lyndon.
…and this from the PSA…
No Place For Privatisation In Health – Alarm Bells Should Be Ringing
The unveiling of the Health Minister’s new priorities is a clear signal that the Government wants to rely on the private sector to deliver health services rather than properly funding a public health system.
“The Government’s privatisation agenda has been well and truly exposed in Minister Brown’s priorities,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“These amount to a slippery slope to an American style health system and the continued running down of our public health system. Alarm bells should be ringing.”
…the reason Reti was sacked was because as a Dr there were public health cuts he couldn’t perform, where as Simeon Brown is a sadistic little yes man who will do as he’s told.
This Government purposely under funded Public health so that they could manufacture a crisis and slash costs so as to fund their tax cuts and landlord loop holes!
In the Budget, National allocated just 2.9% increase to health services but inflation was 3.3% and population growth 2.6% while an ageing population adds more to costs.
National gave 2.9% for health but we needed 8% to stand still, that under funding has manufactured a crisis National are attempting to use privatisation to solve.
TDB has been warning about this tactic since before the election!
LOOK.
AT.
THE.
PICTURE!
We are a nation of easily manipulated and led muppets led by politicians who will bend the knee for Trump like cowards.
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For all of Retis failures he was more in touch with health and well being .Clearly he was sacked because he knew what the government was doing was wrong .The other reason was that he is a Maori and that does not fit the white colonial agenda .No doubt he will disapear at the next election to be replaced with another pussy gropping red neck .
Paula is a realestate sales person so selling Pharmac is right in her wheel house .No doubt Luxon has put up sa part of his trade deal with Modi because they have cheap copies of all the medication we need .
Small molecules possibly but not monoclonal antibodies
Yes, Gordon but remember she (pull the benefit but used it herself) couldn’t get a job, John her best mate got her that job as nobody wanted her.
I know but she has been told she is real good
She is good at being an arsehole and breaching people’s privacy and pulling up the ladder similar to John who likes to pull ponytails.
“National gave 2.9% for health but we needed 8% to stand still, that under funding has manufactured a crisis National are attempting to use privatisation to solve.”
National are not attempting to solve a health crisis. They are well aware a private health system costs more. Privatisation is just a simple rort for mates to extract a great big profit earner from nice secure regular tax revenue.
The efficiency gains wont be bigger than the profit gains.
Luxon’s dilemma would be if Trump threatened 20% tariffs on all our exports if we didn’t kill Pharmac. Luxon (also a great deal maker in his own mind) would probably try to negotiate some weakening of Pharmac’s role – maybe allowing big pharma companies to bypass Pharmac approval for certain classes of compounds and negotiate directly with Health NZ. Luxon and the Nats would not mind if any such deal made having private health insurance a necessity, pumping up the profits and market value of NZ’s private health industry.
Hipkins said that he wouldn’t privatize anything more under Labour. A weak promise.
Let’s see him promise to REVERSE by FORCE WITHOUT COMPENSATION any further privatizations by the Luxon regime on DAY ONE. And to try any Luxon regime minister who initiated them for high treason and restore the appropriate ‘ancien regime’ penalty for that crime.
Of course, the weak little pansy won’t do that.
Yeah so true, he will leave it all as is, we have to take him at his word.
that sounds very Trump like .Do you really think that after every election the incoming government should cancel everything the last government did .Just look at the curent cock ups with ferries that would have been delivered next year but with that mentality we now have to wait another 3 years and the cost will be double by then and the existing one may well have sunk by then .
That’s a moronic response.
Bad governments do bad things.
Good governments should reverse bad things AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
We will be hit with 25% tariff because the orange one thinks GST is some sort of subsidy when in fact it is the same as VAT in the USA .I bet he never pays full asking price for anything yet expects us to pay stupid prices for medications so the big PHAMA can gouge us .No doubt Winston told him to gouge away so the bottom feeders have to spend more cash for the doners .