“The lives of the vulnerable, including the disabled, the ill, the elderly, and low income earners will be under daily
threat if ACT gains enough support to implement its low-tax, health voucher system,” according to Jenny Bloxham MP, New
Zealand First Health Spokesperson.
“Currently, invalids and those on the Sickness Benefit cannot obtain health insurance, and it is unaffordable for most
superannuitants. These people will not benefit from ACT’s low tax policy, and on top of this they will also have to pay
for their healthcare.
“One does not have to be a brain surgeon to project how much health insurance premiums would rise if all New Zealanders
were forced to have private cover. Half a million New Zealanders have pulled out of schemes in the last decade, and
one-third of these did so because of hefty price hikes.
“ACT policy appeals to ‘the haves’, the selfish, and those who think they are invincible. These people should remember
that fortunes change. Every day people succumb to illness or are made redundant, which could be life threatening under
an ACT run health system.
“Imagine health treatment being determined strictly according to profitability. That is a prescription for
medically-induced euthanasia,” concluded Jenny Bloxham.
ENDS