From today most people will once again have to pay for their prescriptions. Photo: 123RF
"If we are letting down the people who are most vulnerable, who can't afford a $5 prescription charge, then we are failing miserably."
That is the message from a researcher behind a study linking the fee, which was re-introduced today, to a 34 percent chance of being hospitalised for those who cannot afford it.
The $5 prescription co-payment was removed in July 2023, but the National Party brought it back to free up money for other services.
Those 13 and under, or 65 and over and those that have a community services card will remain exempt from the charge.
If someone or their family receives 20 new prescriptions a year, they are eligible for a Prescription Subsidy card, which Health New Zealand said means they will not have to pay an additional charge until 1 February the following year.
From today others will have to pay $5 on new prescriptions, for some it is a cost they could do without.
One woman RNZ spoke to said prescriptions should remain free. "Everybody's adjusted to the free prescription on things, it's going to be harder for people to start paying for their medication again it's just getting harder and harder."
Another local in Onehunga said re-introducing the charge was the wrong move. "It's important to make sure that healthcare is accessible to everyone, so there shouldn't be any additional costs."
A study of 71,500 people published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in May found those who did not pick up a prescription because they could not afford the $5 fee had a 34 percent higher rate of being admitted to hospital.
Associate professor at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and lead author Dr Mona Jeffreys said it would inevitably place the country's health system under more strain.
"Those people who couldn't afford a prescription in the past are almost certainly going to be in the same position again, and we're going to see higher rates of hospital emissions, particularly in emergency departments."
Dr Jeffreys said she was extremely worried about the effect the $5 fee would have on patients.
"If we are letting down the people who are most vulnerable, who can't afford a $5 prescription charge, then we are failing miserably."
Vicky Chan, who runs Unichem Pakuranga Pharmacy in East Auckland, said the payment would bring back shame and stress for patients who could afford the fee.
"Quite often we have to help them cherry pick what they can pay for and what they may want to collect you know, on that day."
In the past Chan had created customised payment plans for patients who had struggled to pay the fee, and at times even waived the charge altogether. Now, she expects she will have to do that again.
"Certainly, it's going to put more pressure on my staff and my pharmacists having to re-divert that energy into administrative exercise rather than sort of the clinical aspect of pharmacy and that concerns me."
The government has said that reinstating the $5 prescription co-payment would help to ensure resources were targeted to those most in need, with the resulting savings going to provide essential medicines.
General Practice New Zealand chair Bryan Betty said the reintroduction of prescription fees would particularly impact the working poor who did not qualify for a community services card.
"What we have seen in the past is where those script fees occur and a patient has a number of different scripts to pick up the cost can rise quite substantially. And patients do tend to be selective of what scripts they pick up. So it can be an issue."
Dr Betty said any cost barrier to care was a concern, but he was glad free scripts at least remained for under 14 year olds, those over 65 and those with a community services card.
