Kuriger Barbara: SuperGold Health Check Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKuriger Barbara: SuperGold Health Check Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 24 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4755. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): The intention of this member’s bill that we are speaking on tonight would be to provide three free doctors visits for people over 65 which in itself is commendable but it is very unnecessary and very expensive. Over the next 10 years one of the challenges facing the public health service will be the increase in the population of people aged over 80 years.The member Ruth Dyson stood up earlier and said that the esteemed chair of the Health Committee had said that these people do not need to be supported. What the chair of our select committee actually said was that these people are being supported anyway because under this Government those over 65 who struggle to pay to go to the doctor are already supported and as he also said that is the group that is less likely to be deterred from going to the doctor. We need to be more supportive of our younger people.Let me tell you that given that 80 percent of the people who are over 65 now are actually going to the doctor at least three times a year it is unlikely to significantly increase the number of GP visitations or to decrease the number of hospitalisations. So when we think in the context that over the next 10 years we will be worried about the costs associated with the number of people over 80 years old imagine how much that measure is going to increase the cost to the system. I think that despite the fact that you can retire at 65 some people who are well over 65 are actually quite fit and healthy.On Monday I did a volunteers day out in the electorate with a number of different groups. For part of that day I did Meals on Wheels. The couple who so kindly offered to take me out and around to do Meals on Wheels were celebrating on that very same day their 58th wedding anniversary and here they were actually out delivering Meals on Wheels and they were going to a Lions meeting that night. I cannot thank enough the elderly people in our community who get out and volunteer and care for each other. That actually in itself gives them company and keeps them fit and healthy. I also had another man in my electorate who is 80. He says to me that he used to drive the elderly people to their medical appointments. Now he is actually driving his peers and it is an honour for him to be able to get out and do that.For those who struggle to visit a GP there is a wide range of support available and that includes high-user health and community services cards and it includes a pharmacy subsidy card. This policy as our select committee chair said is likely to cost between $64 million and $100 million. But that actually does not include administration costs it does not include after-hours GP visits and it does not include prescriptions. Even the New Zealand Medical Association chair Dr Mark Peterson said the policy is unnecessary and difficult to justify and he went on to say: “we need to target increased funding to those who really need it those people who can’t afford to go to the doctor otherwise.” As we said before 80 percent of those people are going to the doctor anyway.In terms of health care I think this Government is doing pretty well and I think we are supporting those people. We have also put an extra $76.1 million in the next 4 years to go into palliative and hospice care. We have increased spending on aged residential care and it is really commendable I think the work that has been done in this area. Also the number of hours of home support that are going in now has been lifted from 9.3 million up to 10.9 million in 2014-15. So that is prevention that is an example of communities looking after themselves and it is actually about people taking care of each other with support from our Government and helping each other lead a long healthy sustainable life. Thank you.