Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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Forums › Politics › Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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#3165128 28-Nov-2023 14:21

michaelmurfy:

sir1963: I was in favour of getting rid of it for various demographics/medications, but for me and the family although we are high users we could afford to pay and would have liked to see that money used to expand/subsidise medications available

For many households even $5 can be the difference to obtaining needed medication but I've also got friends who are pharmacists and they're not looking forward to the added overhead of collecting payments and for those vulnerable some pharmacies also would often do an IOU with some people to ensure they get the medication they need adding additional overhead once again as they'll often have to chase up payments etc.

So the fee free prescriptions allowed for less pharmacy overheads in many different ways.

It would be pretty incredible if the govt could still cater for the vulnerable and not just the rich wouldn't it?

Lots of places cope with discounts/free for those with CSC/Goldcard/etc as well as ACC etc. Pharmacists still get paid the retail cost for the medication.

sir1963

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#3165133 28-Nov-2023 14:31

And Seymour who is concerned that limiting tobacco would lead to ram raids..."

'Can't go back to those times': Pharmacist worried burglaries could surge when Pseudoephedrine goes back on shelves"

Apparently consistency in opinion is not high on the list

michaelmurfy

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#3165134 28-Nov-2023 14:34

sir1963: I am more than happy for anyone on a benefit , those with a CSC, or various long term health conditions to get them free.

That is the pharmacy overhead I'm talking about. Pharmacies are not happy with basically being tax collectors with additional rules thrown in as they're the ones forking the bill.

And yet, the rich are still catered for, you and I still can afford our medication but Amanda down the road who is both a single mum and working full time for a minimum waged job (which is now not seeing pay increases anytime soon) trying to cater for her son suddenly can't afford some groceries because her son needs asthma inhalers to not end up in hospital costing the taxpayer more.

Edit: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/02-11-2023/how-fees-free-prescriptions-changed-my-patients-lives-for-the-better

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#3165136 28-Nov-2023 14:37

sir1963:

And Seymour who is concerned that limiting tobacco would lead to ram raids..."

'Can't go back to those times': Pharmacist worried burglaries could surge when Pseudoephedrine goes back on shelves"

Apparently consistency in opinion is not high on the list

If they were worried about prohibition leading to organised crime they wouldn't have voted against cannabis legalisation. Personally I'm quite happy to see pseudoephedrine back. Banning it was dumb - "OMG now it's illegal to buy pseudoephedrine I guess we won't be able to make this illegal meth anymore" said no P cook ever.

But no, you're right, consistency clearly not a priority for this lot.

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sir1963

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#3165141 28-Nov-2023 14:54

michaelmurfy:

sir1963: I am more than happy for anyone on a benefit , those with a CSC, or various long term health conditions to get them free.

That is the pharmacy overhead I'm talking about. Pharmacies are not happy with basically being tax collectors with additional rules thrown in as they're the ones forking the bill.

And yet, the rich are still catered for, you and I still can afford our medication but Amanda down the road who is both a single mum and working full time for a minimum waged job (which is now not seeing pay increases anytime soon) trying to cater for her son suddenly can't afford some groceries because her son needs asthma inhalers to not end up in hospital costing the taxpayer more.

And yet bus drivers seem to manage fine. So do GPs, Dentists, supermarkets (gold card), physiotherapists, etc etc etc.

Of course what they could do is just reduce what they pay pharmacists by $5 an item so the overhead is not there for them....

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#3165142 28-Nov-2023 14:56

sir1963:

And yet bus drivers seem to manage fine.

I think you'll find there's plenty of evidence to suggest buses work better without having to collect fares too.

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#3165143 28-Nov-2023 14:57

sir1963:

michaelmurfy:

sir1963: I am more than happy for anyone on a benefit , those with a CSC, or various long term health conditions to get them free.

That is the pharmacy overhead I'm talking about. Pharmacies are not happy with basically being tax collectors with additional rules thrown in as they're the ones forking the bill.

And yet, the rich are still catered for, you and I still can afford our medication but Amanda down the road who is both a single mum and working full time for a minimum waged job (which is now not seeing pay increases anytime soon) trying to cater for her son suddenly can't afford some groceries because her son needs asthma inhalers to not end up in hospital costing the taxpayer more.

And yet bus drivers seem to manage fine. So do GPs, Dentists, supermarkets (gold card), physiotherapists, etc etc etc.

Of course what they could do is just reduce what they pay pharmacists by $5 an item so the overhead is not there for them....

This reply seems confusing.

Are you saying bus drivers are managing life fine, when compared to the single mum? Could you tell me how many bus drivers do you know and how can you ascertain they are doing fine?

Or are you saying bus drivers are "collecting tariffs"?

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sir1963

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#3165148 28-Nov-2023 15:10

freitasm:

This reply seems confusing.

Are you saying bus drivers are managing life fine, when compared to the single mum? Could you tell me how many bus drivers do you know and how can you ascertain they are doing fine?

Or are you saying bus drivers are "collecting tariffs"?

No, I am saying lots of businesses seem to be able to cope with different subsidies , eg bus fares, cheaper for CSC, or where I live I get a free bus to work, etc.

I have zero issues with people on Benefits not having to pay anything, so your solo mum is fine.

I also have no issues with me paying $100 a year, so potentially we get a wider range of medications available for those that need them.

There are plenty of others suffering because certain medications are not available/subsidised, I know I am on one of them costing me $300 a month. And I sure as hell dont think people on low incomes should pay prescription fees so I can get my meds cheap.

Meantime we could also make travel/health insurance compulsory for tourists. Its costs the health sector millions every year though non payment.
No insurance, no entry.

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#3165151 28-Nov-2023 15:17

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/new-government-looks-hypocritical-for-having-28-ministers-despite-spending-cuts-promises-bryce-edwards.html

I guess that this must be part of Luxon's "merger" and "acquisition" skills he acquired when he was running an airline?

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#3165152 28-Nov-2023 15:17

sir1963:

Meantime we could also make travel/health insurance compulsory for tourists. Its costs the health sector millions every year though non payment.
No insurance, no entry.

I don't think anyone would argue with that. Completely sensible suggestion.

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#3165158 28-Nov-2023 15:38

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/chaos-in-the-cabinet-room-tell-the-public-what-you-signed-up-to-to-get-the-money-winston-peters-lashes-out-as-christopher-luxon-tries-to-get-down-to-business/6O3LUGXYPVA7BG6XJ3MOE5JTYI/

Might be paywalled but Peters needs to get a grip. Every day he's barking at the media. Luxon awkwardly dealing with it by avoidance, MP's shuffling awkwardly in their seats. Not quite solid and stable, but lets see

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quickymart

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#3165159 28-Nov-2023 15:41

Sadly, I think that we're going to see a lot more of this over the next 3 years.

Having said that, I do think one of their proposals - moving to a 4 year parliamentary term - is a good idea.

sir1963

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#3165161 28-Nov-2023 15:47

quickymart:

Sadly, I think that we're going to see a lot more of this over the next 3 years.

Having said that, I do think one of their proposals - moving to a 4 year parliamentary term - is a good idea.

Unless you want to get rid of them ?

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#3165168 28-Nov-2023 16:26

sir1963:

Unless you want to get rid of them ?

Well, sure, it cuts both ways.

But if you want any government to make real change on anything of the slightest complexity, you can't get it done in 2 years. I mean, back in the day it took me three years to replace a prepay system at Vodafone when the entire service consisted of phone calls at $1.39/min and 20c per SMS.

I can't imagine making significant progress on say mental health in 2 years (allowing one year for nothing to get done because it's election year).

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quickymart

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#3165171 28-Nov-2023 16:34

sir1963:

quickymart:

Sadly, I think that we're going to see a lot more of this over the next 3 years.

Having said that, I do think one of their proposals - moving to a 4 year parliamentary term - is a good idea.

Unless you want to get rid of them ?

No matter who is in government, 3 years isn't a long time to get much done.

Also, as a left-wing voter, reading through a lot of this is somewhat depressing: https://archive.ph/wQ7vo

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