Free GP visits
The first few years of life are critical in laying the foundations for good health. Access to quality healthcare is important to help children reach their potential. Conversely, poor health in childhood has been linked to lower educational attainment, lower income and lower-socio-economic status in later life.
CPAG believes all children should have timely access to healthcare, and that removing financial barriers to treatment improves this. Afterall, delays in seeking treatment for something like rheumatic fever can mean the difference between having a short-term, easily treated infection, or developing long-term damage (rheumatic heart disease).
CPAG has advocated for all-hours access to free healthcare for 0-18 year olds since the mid-2000s.
Policy timeline
The Free Child Health Care Scheme was introduced in 1996. It provided free in-hours GP visits for children under six years old. This led to a marked increase in visits by infants in the poorest households. In 2011 this was extended to include after-hours visits for children under six years old. In 2015 the Government introduced free GP visits and prescriptions for children under 13, which was extended to under 14s in 2018. Currently, 14-18 year olds pay full GP fees and prescriptions.
CPAG continues to advocate for free GP visits for those over 14 years old
We have welcomed the extensions of free GP visits to older children but continue to advocate for free visits for those over 14. This would increase access to primary health care and would likely reduce preventable disease in New Zealand.
Dr Nikki Turner, CPAG health spokesperson has said, ‘Teenagers have a range of health challenges, both physical and mental. It is important to remove barriers to enable access to primary care services in this vulnerable period of their lives.’
CPAG research and advocacy
In 2007 CPAG surveyed charges for children under 6 to visit a doctor after-hours. The research showed that these could be up to $120 per visit.
In 2013 CPAG released the report ‘Implementation of free after-hours healthcare services for children under six in New Zealand’. The research looked at how widely the free after-hour visits for children under six had been implemented across New Zealand. CPAG surveyed 280 general practices and found that financial barriers to primary care had been reduced for many families.
CPAG surveyed 280 General Practices, drawn from the 20 District Health Boards, to find out how widely free after-hours visits for children under six have been implemented across New Zealand. Each practice was asked, by phone, how much it cost for a child under six to visit the doctor during in-hours, and during after-hours. The results show that financial barriers to primary care had been reduced for many families. In-hours visits were free for children under six in 265 (95%) of the 280 practices surveyed. The other 15 practices still charged for these in-hours visits, and at 8 practices the fee ranged from $10.01 to $20. The highest fee was $45.
In 2014 CPAG released the report The cost of GP visits for 6-17 year olds in New Zealand. In that report CPAG investigated the costs of GP visits, both in-hours and after-hours, for children aged 6-17 years by surveying 280 practices from the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs). The survey found the average cost of a visit to a GP in regular daytime hours was $24, with charges ranging from $0 to $60. The average cost of an after-hours visit, which includes evenings and weekends (covering 75% of the week), was $44, with charges up to $89.
In 2019, CPAG submitted to the New Zealand Health and Disability System Review. In the submission, CPAG called for free healthcare, including dentistry, prescriptions and specialist hearing and vision care for all children and adolescents under 18 years of age. In the submission, CPAG says universal healthcare for children should start before they are born, including having free doctor’s (GP) visits and pregnancy-related dental care provided for expectant mothers.