Tauranga GP Luke Bradford, medical director for the Royal College of General Practitioners. Photo: Supplied
A leading doctors group is backing Labour's policy of a capital gains tax to fund three free GP appointments, but they are concerned that already overstretched GPs and practices won't be able to keep up with the increased demand.
Labour has agreed to campaign on a capital gains tax (CGT) covering just property - excluding family homes and farms - to help fund three free doctor visits for everyone.
The policy was announced abruptly on Tuesday morning after RNZ was earlier leaked details over the long weekend.
The CGT will be 28 percent, and will only apply to profits made after July 1st 2027.
If elected, Labour will use the income to fund three free doctors visits a year for everyone from July 2028.
It will also set up an independent pricing authority that will determine a national rate for GP funding that Labour said will reflect real costs.
Every New Zealander would receive a Medicard at birth or upon gaining residency or citizenship. It would be integrated with existing GP systems and track entitlements and usage.
Royal New Zealand College of GPs President Dr Luke Bradford told Checkpoint it supported anything that increases access to healthcare and decreases barriers.
"We're pleased to see the acknowledgement that the best way to keep people well is to have regular contacts with their general practice and general practitioner."
However, Bradford said the biggest concern was that GPs are not going to have the capacity to deal with the increased demand for people to see their doctors more often.
"Currently we can't meet the demand that's already there. We're struggling to recruit and retain our healthcare teams and there is nothing in this policy that states specifically how we will manage that, how we will bring more doctors and nurses into the workforce to see these patients."
Labour's Health Spokesperson Ayesha Verall said that following discussions with the industry, she believed they would be able to free up 4.5 million appointments.
Bradford said the number seemed "ambitious".
"There's some stuff in the policy around the use of AI for note taking, and for some phone triaging and certainly there's some benefits to having that and we will see efficiencies come on board, but it's not going to meet the demand here.
"Three funded appointments for 4.2 million over fourteens in the country, 12.5 million appointments, that's a lot considering that a lot of these will be extra."
Bradford said doctors were currently using Scribe, an AI programme that helps with note taking, saving about two minutes per consult.
But he said that would hardly be enough to free up enough time for the extra appointments.
"What we need to do is make the career more attractive and get more junior doctors and international doctors into this great profession.
"If you want this policy you're gonna have to resource the staff, to resource the staff you're gonna have to get to the point where GP's aren't burning out and they want to train as GPs, so that's going to take some work."
However, Bradford said they were on board with Labour's goal to set up an independent pricing authority to set sustainable funding for general practice.
"As it is recommendations come from an independent body and then they go to Te Whatu Ora and then Te Whatu Ora decides how much they can afford of that recommendation and that's what's seen successive below inflation price increases.
"The issues for the independent body, as I understand it, will instruct Te Whatu Ora what the price increases will be. So if we can get the settings right for it, then I think that's a positive move."
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