New Zealanders becoming more dependent on private healthcare: report
A report out today from the senior doctors' union says New Zealanders' dependence on private healthcare is rapidly increasing. The union is in an industrial dispute with Te Whatu Ora over doctors' pay and conditions. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists report says private hospital use has risen 38 per cent in the past decade. That means the private operators are taking on more doctors, draining the public system of staff. In addition, 140-thousand more people bought private health insurance last year. Kathryn speaks with Harriet Wild, Director of policy and research at the ASMS and Richard Whitney, President of the Private Surgical Hospitals Association.