Steps To End Abuses Of Health Benefits

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 March 1950, Page 5

Steps To End Abuses Of Health Benefits

WELLINGTON, This Day (P.A.).—Steps to end the shortcomings and abuses in the operation of the medical and pharmaceutical health benefits will be put into effect immediately. The Minister of Health, Mr J. T. Watts, announced today that he

Medical Services Committee, somehad given close study to the situation and that from tomorrow the Government would give effect to certain recommendations of the times known as the Cleary Committee, set up in 1947. Disciplinary committees, under the Medical* Practitioners’ Act, would be set np immediately, said the Minister. These would assist the Department of Health in administering health benefits. Also medical practitioners Would be required to decide whether they wished to operate under the schedule system of recovering payments, under which they themselves claim from the Social Security Fund on behalf of patients, or under the refund system, under which the practitioner charges the patient, who then may claim reimbursement from the fund. “In future practitioners will be able to practise either system, but not a mixture of both systems,” said MiWatts, who added that medical practitioners would be entitled to recover from the Social Security Fund under either of those systems a fee. “Not exceeding 7s 6d,” instead of the present flat rate of 7s 6d. This, he said, would make it possible in future to regulate fees for minor and routine services. r “I have discussed with the B.M.A. the procedure to be adopted in future and negotiations will now take place with the Health Department on the details,” he added. Full Co-operation The Minister said the B.M.A. had assured him of full co-operation with the Government in restoring the quality of medical service in New Zealand, in correcting abuses and in retaining the medical profession in the highest level of public regard. The Minister said he himself was satisfied that the steps being taken with the full co-operation of the medical profession would stop much of the present abuse of social security. It was only fair to say that in the past the leaders of the medical profession had warned the Government of the day of the pitfalls, but the

Government had ignored these warnings. < ’< , • ; .X. r’: . The Minister confirmed the immediate restoration to the doctors of the right to sue for the amount of their fees over and above the portion that could be claimed front the Social Security Fund and said that, in accordance with the Cleary report there would be adequate safeguards to protect patients against excessive fees.

“I have also expressed to the B.M.A. representatives my concern at the fact that there are not sufficient powers to deal, with flagrant cases of abuse,” said the Minister. “I therefore propose to issue amending regulations, under which I will have the power, upon the recommendation of either the Medical Council or the disciplinary committees, of excluding any medical practitioner, at least temporarily, from the right of recovery from the Social Security Fund for medical services rendered by him.”

Cost Of Prescriptions The Minister said he undertook to convey to the Government the B.M.A.’s recommendation that there should be some charge for prescriptions, but in the meantime he hoped to reduce the cost of pharmaceutical benefits by improved methods of administration, which were already practically worked out, and by the assistance of the disciplinary committees to be set up.