Charges for private lab tests

Moves by Wellington district health boards to make patients pay for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists would free up to $7 million a year for other patient care, says Health Minister Pete Hodgson.

He said board chief executives from around the country would discuss the issue next month, and he said he wanted consistency in policy to ensure fairness.

Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast boards are halting funding of specialist private laboratory tests for people in private healthcare.

National health spokesman Tony Ryall yesterday questioned the minister in Parliament on the impact on patients.

Mr Ryall said the Government was acting out of "blind ideological opposition" to private health care. "These changes will have a huge impact on individual patients," he said.

"A woman with a lump in her breast will now end up paying an extra $250 for lab tests to find out if she has cancer or not. This is on top of the $500 she is paying for specialist assessment.

"Men with prostate cancer will also face a bill of several hundred dollars for their lab tests.

"Cardiac patients will have to pay in excess of $1000 in lab charges."

Mr Hodgson said the Wellington boards would save $6 million to $7 million a year.

"All of this money is now available to be reinvested back into the health of people within the Wellington region."

He said there was a range of tests, for breast cancer, for example, that cost on average less than $50. There were some tests that cost more than $200.

"But I would point out to the woman that if she persists with the private sector and needs a mastectomy, the cost to her will be probably $13,000. That gives you some perspective," he said.

He had seen reports that the Wellington region boards felt that making the change was correcting a historical anomaly which was diverting resources from patients who relied solely on the public health system, he said.

CT scans were already paid for privately, as were x-rays and ultrasound. "And all of these things cost a good deal less on average than do laboratory services."

Mr Hodgson also said he had told chief executives there must be national consistency on the policy "to ensure fairness from region to region".

The Wellington changes would occur first and "there will be some learning by doing no doubt".

Board chief executives were due to discuss the issue at their November meeting, Mr Hodgson said.

Act MP Heather Roy said she had heard reports about specialists who intended to refer their patients back to the GPs to have tests ordered.

"That will load more pressure on to already overworked GPs and will discourage people from going private," she said.

- NZPA