HOSPITAL FINANCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 June 1943, Page 2

HOSPITAL FINANCE

POSITION OF LOCAL BODIES. STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF HEALTH. (By Telegraph—Dress Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Discussing hospital finance when he spoke in the Budget debate in the House of Representatives last evening, the Minister of Health (Mr Nordmeyer) said the 3s increase in the payment from the Social Security Fund to hospital boards in respect to in-patients was the amount requested by the Hospital Boards’ Association about two months ago. That was leaving aside the question of whether the State should take over the whole hospital system and be responsible for financing the hospitals of the Dominion. The amount given represented an increased payment of £250,000; in other words, it represented a saving to local bodies of that sum which they would otherwise have to pay to the hospital boards. It brought the amount the local bodies would have to find to approximately the amount they found before the introduction of social security, and that represented a measure of stabilisation. Replying to an interjection from Mr Boswell (Government, Bay of Islands) as to whether private hospitals would not raise their fees, the Minister said they could do so if the Price Tribunal and the Health Department were satisfied that an increase was necessary to ensure a reasonable margin of profit to the private hospitals.