Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd

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Fall in cost of GP visits

By Lawrence Johnston

THE cost of seeing a GP and buying a prescription, both fell in the September quarter, according to the latest Consumers Price Index (CPI).
They were both the main contributors to an overall 3.1 per cent decrease in health prices, with pharmaceutical products being down 16.2 per cent and GP fees down 15.4 per cent.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson said cost should never be a barrier to visiting the family doctor.
For a young family, the annual cost of visiting a GP had fallen from about NZ$940 a year on average to around NZ$440. For an older couple who previously on average had paid some NZ$780 a year, the cost was now around NZ$340 a year,
The lowered costs had certainly meant that older New Zealanders were visiting their GPs and nurses more often nowadays, he said.
The decrease in prices was due to an increase in government subsidies, Government Statistician Geoff Bascard said.
Other highlights of Mr Bascard's quarterly report on the index, are that:

The CPI rose 0.5 per cent.
Housing and household utilities prices rose 1.8 per cent, driven by higher prices for local authority rates and payments.
Food prices increased 1.2 per cent, with the main contribution coming from higher prices for groceries.
Education prices fell 5.2 per cent, due to lower prices for early childhood education as a result of changes to government funding, and
The CPI increased 1.8 per cent for the year to the September 2007 quarter.