The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and the New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCOM) commend Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and the Hon. Simeon Brown, Minister of Health, for implementing interim measures to reduce unaffordable copayments for maternity ultrasounds, as well as committing to developing longer-term, sustainable funding arrangements.
Late last year, as a significant increase in maternity ultrasound copayments loomed, NZCOM and RANZCOG wrote to the Minister of Health urgently requesting an interim solution to address copayments, as well as a full review of maternity ultrasound funding.
Today’s announcement of a $12.9 million funding boost for community-delivered maternity ultrasounds services, introduces arrangements with private providers – who deliver the majority of maternity ultrasound scans in New Zealand – to cap copayments at $30 dollars for those with a community services card (CSC) and $90 for non-CSC holders. This is a reduction from the previously proposed increases to $75 and $150 respectively.
The $92 fee currently paid by Te Whatu Ora to community-based ultrasound providers has not changed since 1997 and is substantially lower than public funding for other types of ultrasound scans, despite maternity ultrasounds often being more complex and requiring more time to complete. Providers have needed to charge women increasing co-payments to help cover their costs.
Now, Health New Zealand is finally boosting the funding it pays to community providers. Under the new approach:
- Co-payments must be capped at $30 for Community Service Card holders and $90 for non-CSC holders(includingGST).
- Hospital maternity ultrasound servicesremainfully funded, with no user charges.
- Existing regional subsidies, including those funded through hospitaland specialist services,regional commissioning or primary health,are toremain in place to ensure no woman is worse off during the transition.
- Providers who optinto the short-term contractwill continue to claim under the existing Notice and be eligible for a top-up payment, so that total funding including any co-paymentis up to $225.50 (incl GST) per scan for patients with aCSC, and $216.50 (incl. GST) for a non-CSC holder.
NZCOM Chief Executive, Alison Eddy cautions that $90 copayments for non-community services card holders will still be unaffordable for some women on low incomes, especially those with high-risk pregnancies requiring multiple scans.
During the course of a straightforward pregnancy, two routine ultrasound scans are recommended, however when there are concerns about the wellbeing of the baby, as many as eight scans may be required. At $90 copayment per scan, it’s easy to see how this can still amount to a very significant cost burden for families.
– NZCOM Chief Executive, Alison Eddy
Both RANZCOG and NZCOM have raised concerns about outdated maternity ultrasound funding and ever-increasing copayments for many years, highlighting the risks that families are unable to access clinically necessary maternity ultrasound scans because of cost, and that this will result in avoidable tragic consequences for mothers and babies.
TV New Zealand Vice President, Dr Emma Jackson says, “It’s great to see that for the first time in years funding has been put in place nationally to assist in reducing maternity ultrasound copayments, but most importantly it is a relief to see commitment to addressing maternity ultrasound funding properly, so that women can access the essential ultrasound scans they need for the safety of their pregnancy without cost being a barrier.”
TV and NZCOM are committed to working with the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora on a full review of maternity ultrasound funding and we hope to see copayments for clinically necessary maternity ultrasound scans become a thing of past soon.
– RANZCOG New Zealand Vice President, Dr Emma Jackson
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Media enquiries
Bec McPhee
Head of Advocacy & Communications, RANZCOG
bmcphee@ranzcog.edu.au
+61 413 258 166
Alison Eddy
Chief Executive, NZCOM
(03) 372 9736
