The country's major rest home chains are facing a legal battle over pay as the unions representing aged care workers bring proceedings under the Equal Pay Act.

Caregivers do tasks few could stomach, often for minimal wages, report Simon Collins and Martin Johnston.

An outbreak of scabies infestations at a rest home wasn't managed properly for nine months, an official investigation has found.

A caregiver says elderly residents at a rest home in the Wellington area were dressed again in dirty continence pads to save money on new pads.

A two-month Herald investigation of rest homes has found some major failings - including a confused married woman "mauled" by a resident and a 9-month scabies outbreak.

Parliament is widely criticised as a place where petty politicking and points-scoring occupy a higher priority than the betterment of the country. But not always.

A call by Abano Healthcare for former director Peter Hutson to come up with a price for his half of their jointly owned audiology business has failed to illicit a public response.

Innovation is continuing to bolster Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's business in the face of a stubbornly high New Zealand dollar, says chief executive Mike Daniell.

The Government has agreed to post full audit reports of rest homes online - but will take them down again after a six-month trial if people don't bother reading them.

The number of kiwis taking out private healthcare insurance has fallen by over 25,000.

New Zealand's biggest health insurer faces some weighty issues as it begins its second half-century, reports Karyn Scherer.

Robert Sintes wants to join the Southern Cross board. So far, he can't even get on the ballot paper.

The days of Kiwi doctors treating toddlers for free are long-gone, with one big-city clinic charging $44 to see children younger than 5.

Northland Health has recorded 298 cases of norovirus, with several patients still being kept in isolation.