Advocates want more detail on travel assistance changes

Wednesday, 3 April 2024

• Government has announced extra funding and changes to the National Travel Assistance scheme.

• Health advocates say government needs to work with them to make sure the changes meet the needs of those who use the scheme.

• The scheme was designed to help patients who had to travel to bigger centres for care, but some have delayed treatment because they couldn’t access funds.

There’s some relief on the way for regional patients, but health advocates say its only a step for those still suffering from the postcode lottery in healthcare.

Government has announced an $18 million boost to the National Travel Assistance scheme for Kiwis who have to travel to receive specialist health treatment.

The money will cover increased mileage and accommodation rates while Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti said Government would also be making changes to pre-payment and claiming options, and eligibility criteria along with raising awareness about the scheme.

But speaking on behalf of an NGO collective, Cancer Society chief executive Dr Rachael Hart said the organisations needed reassurance about timely implementation.

The changes are expected to be delivered in tranches from April, with rate increases and easier claiming options expected first.

“We would like to see a clear timeframe for the other changes, including eligibility criteria and pre-payment options,” Hart said.

“We are looking for these to be concluded to ensure that any additional changes can be incorporated into future budgets.”

The collective of 34 health-focused organisations and more than 1000 individuals united under the banner of a Cancer Society-led NTA: Let’s Drive Change campaign in 2023 to push for meaningful changes to the scheme.

This was after a review of the scheme in 2018 found it to be underfunded, inaccessible and inequitable.

People using the scheme told the campaign team that travel costs could be “crippling”, that the scheme put up barriers that felt “insurmountable” and many echoed the sentiment that one consumer shared: “With the rising fuel cost and with my cost-of-living expenses I have second thought my treatment at times. There is enough stress just knowing you are fighting cancer without the added stress of the added expense to get to treatment.”

Hart said the organisations needed a commitment from Government to work alongside advocacy groups and patients to make sure the changes truly met the needs of those it was designed to support.

“We want to understand the Government’s modelling about the rate changes to understand how these will meet the needs of patients and whānau, and will continue to work with our patients to better understand where needs remain unmet,” she said.

The NTA scheme was set up to support those who lived a long way from treatment centres, which meant they often lived rurally.

Increasingly though, with more specialisation in the regions, people were travelling from one urban centre to another for treatment, Hart said.

Reti said the government understood that the NTA offered critical assistance, but that some families struggled to access funding and delayed treatment because they couldn’t afford upfront costs.

“…removing barriers that prevent people from receiving treatment is a no-brainer. We expect around 4500 New Zealanders to benefit,” he said.

Access to Healthcare Advocacy Aotearoa member Professor Gil Barbezat said this sentiment should also apply to other challenges in the health system.

“The time taken for increasing numbers of New Zealanders to actually reach a First Specialist Appointment has risen to well beyond the target time of four months (already far too long) to well above that in figures released recently. How many patients would benefit from correcting that?”

While little benefits were appreciated, the whole health system needed more funding to provide adequate services, he said.

“That will not be solved by introducing tax cuts.”