KEY POINTS:
The United Future party has released its health policy with the vision statement that the policy should be focused on prevention as much as care.
The party says the public health system is failing to keep up with demands placed on it and this will continue unless demand is substantially reduced.
The policy includes giving every New Zealander the chance to get a free standard "warrant of fitness health check" once a year.
It said it would establish a unit with the Ministry of Health to monitor the regulation and development of complementary and alternative medicine products and practitioners.
It would establish a national register for Type 1 diabetes, establish a diabetes research fund and increase funding for Type 2 diabetes testing.
Other measures include establishing a new prostate cancer screening programme for men.
But while acknowledging there is an obesity epidemic, the policy says the party will use "parent education" as the first line of attack to reduce obesity rates rather than any mandatory measures.
At a news conference to announce the policies today, Mrs Turner said it had been too difficult as a party outside Government to get proper costings for the policies, but she acknowledged they would be expensive.
United Future leader Peter Dunne said some of the cost would be offset by policies that would produce savings such as greater use of private hospitals for elective surgery.
Mr Dunne would not say which policies would be a priority in post-election government-forming negotiations.
He said the party was also investigating the idea of a national health insurance scheme to cover things like elective surgery.
Examples of other policy planks include:
* Supporting the use of "green prescriptions" through the development of venues for physical activity such as walking paths and bicycle lanes;
* A national strategy, including private sector funding, for insulating all New Zealand homes to at least 1977 standards;
* Encouraging employers to offer healthy lifestyle incentives, such as gym memberships, to supplement sick day provisions;
* Tax concessions for those who take out private health insurance;
* Cutting tuition fees for those studying medicine and nursing;
* Apprenticeship-style training for caregivers;
* Funding Plunketline, separate to funding for Healthline;
The party said it would retain the current basic structure of the health system.
It has also promised to reduce waiting lists for elective surgery for those likely to wait more than six months for their operations by requiring district health boards to contract out work to private hospitals.
The policy contains no costings.
- NZPA
