Te Ao Māori News | Health for all requires outcomes, not excuses
This opinion piece by Louisa Wall in Te Ao Māori News was published recently, but it goes to the heart of the debate about the future of public healthcare in Aotearoa.
As the Government heads towards Budget decisions that will shape the system for years to come, a bigger question lies beneath it all. Not just how much is spent, but what we expect that spending to achieve.
Louisa challenges the idea that “opportunity” is enough, that if services exist, the job is done. Because we know that’s not how the system works in practice. Access delayed is care denied. Outcomes vary depending on who you are, where you live, and what you can afford.
If we’re serious about a publicly funded healthcare system, then outcomes have to matter. Otherwise, we’re not talking about fairness but a system that accepts inequity.
This opinion piece is important. It sets out what Universal Health Coverage actually means and why it requires more than rhetoric.
And it brings us back to a choice on whether we properly fund the public system to deliver care when people need it, whether we commit to equity by measuring and improving outcomes, and whether we hold the line against the steady creep of privatisation.