Government Pharmacies A Bad Idea
Tuesday 12 Aug 2003 Heather Roy Press Releases -- Health
ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today announced that she has submitted an amendment to the Health
Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill, to prevent Labour from nationalising pharmacies - and turning chemists into
state employees.
"Health Minister Annette King's strategy is to encourage Primary Health Organisations and District Health Boards to own
their own pharmacies and, essentially, to nationalise the community chemist shop. My amendment will prevent Primary
Health Organisations from owning chemist shops," Mrs Roy said.
"The Labour Government has squeezed pharmacies, and already driven many out of business. It has undermined pharmacy
margins - through its agency PHARMAC's monopoly, protracted contract negotiations with District Health Boards and the
change to three-month dispensing. This last has, in effect, reduced chemists' dispensing income by two thirds. Most
chemists now make no money from dispensing prescriptions.
"ACT is in favour of free enterprise and competition, but chemists have no level playing field. If taxpayer-funded
District Health Boards can set up their own pharmacies to compete with locally owned pharmacies, the local chemist shop
will quickly disappear.
"My advice to the Government is to start by de-regulating PHARMAC, and removing its exemption from Commerce Commission
scrutiny. Hospitals should concentrate on reducing waiting lists, rather than using the deep pockets of Treasury to
unfairly compete with one of the health sector's few unsubsidised areas - your locally owned chemist shop.
"When Ms King has made these measures, I'm sure the Pharmacy Guild would be willing to revisit regulations covering the
sector," Mrs Roy said.
ENDS
For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at
act@parliament.govt.nz.