[Toughy]

Me in this color

Originally Posted by 1QuirkyKiwi

My cousin works for the same NHS I’m talking about and has done for many years. He has known of the financial incentives being paid to GPs. Several Locum Doctors have been prosecuted in recent years for misusing funds.

This statement is different from your original statement. Fraud exists in every health care system and is a very small percentage of the cost of health care. There are fraud task forces in the UK that address that issue. It's not some huge percentage of GPs that commit fraud. It's more like several as you said. If I remember correctly, in the entire US, the large overwhelmingly majority of fraud is committed by less than 100 clinicians.

In NZ Primary Care (GPs) and medications on the list of the New Zealand government agency require co-payments, but are subsidised, especially for patients with community health services cards or high user health cards; low income families and the disabled. Surgeries and other medical treatments are paid for by health insurance schemes for members privately. Those that can be for treatment, do.

My picky point was you said a 3 tiered system. My understanding (and what you describe) is a two-tiered system. What you describe is pretty much the same as it was when I lived there. I had co-pays for both primary care and prescriptions and all I payed was the co-pay. I thought overall I received great care in NZ.

As I said I hate inaccuracies. Anyway....back to the fat positive talk