Post by Kiwi Frontline on Feb 2, 2019 16:31:40 GMT 12
IWI AND MEDICAL UNION IN DENTAL DISPUTE
A Wellington iwi has raised concerns about the medical specialist's union wanting to extend their collective agreement to include two dentists along with twenty GPs as Māori health providers for the Toa Rangatira Rūnanga.
Tā Matiu Rei, executive director for Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, says the move by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) would incur considerable costs for patients because the government only pays for dental care up to the age of 18 years.
Rei says the Toa Rangatira Māori health provider is the first to be targeted by the union with the expectation they're loaded with cash from their Treaty settlement to pay any shortfall.
He says "The last thing we want to do is set a precedent for other Iwi Health Providers to pick up the health tab."
Rei says the settlement fund is for iwi beneficiaries and comes from breaches of article two of the Treaty of Waitangi.
However, tangata whenua have rights as New Zealand citizens under article three of the Treaty and those rights mean the public purse pays for health services via district health boards.
www.maoritelevision.com/news/latest-news/iwi-and-medical-union-dental-dispute
A Wellington iwi has raised concerns about the medical specialist's union wanting to extend their collective agreement to include two dentists along with twenty GPs as Māori health providers for the Toa Rangatira Rūnanga.
Tā Matiu Rei, executive director for Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, says the move by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) would incur considerable costs for patients because the government only pays for dental care up to the age of 18 years.
Rei says the Toa Rangatira Māori health provider is the first to be targeted by the union with the expectation they're loaded with cash from their Treaty settlement to pay any shortfall.
He says "The last thing we want to do is set a precedent for other Iwi Health Providers to pick up the health tab."
Rei says the settlement fund is for iwi beneficiaries and comes from breaches of article two of the Treaty of Waitangi.
However, tangata whenua have rights as New Zealand citizens under article three of the Treaty and those rights mean the public purse pays for health services via district health boards.
www.maoritelevision.com/news/latest-news/iwi-and-medical-union-dental-dispute