Don’t compare US, NZ healthcare
It is disturbing, in the light of New Zealand nurses’ recent industrial action, to read in Saturday’s Press of the good fortune of the Canterbury nursing couple who have taken up positions in Sacramento with pay cheques more than double the highest rate of nursing pay in New Zealand. The article focuses on the couple’s good fortune.
If we widen the focus on hospital care, we could capture not just salaries and employment but include the availability of medical care in the United States and in New Zealand.
Many hospitals in the US are private and charge fees at a rate that is beyond, I believe, a large sector of their population. As a consequence, medical insurance is very expensive and beyond many a family income.
This contrasts with availability of hospital services in New Zealand, with ACC and Government funding of a country-wide hospital system which is available on need.
Much as I hope for a good deal for our hardworking and dedicated nurses, their cause does not get any traction by comparisons with the US, as the two health systems are so different.
Bob Ryburn, Burnside that I’ve become unnaturally obsessed about. People can use language however they please, but nobody I talk to seems to realise it’s even a thing. Does Air New Zealand realise they’re making us all sound odd to our big brother? Is there anybody else that cares about this as much as I do?
Michael Bell, Christchurch central