Dear patient,
It is with regret that we will be increasing the fees we charge you, our patients, from 1st September 2024. However, we have kept the fee increase to the minimum possible at this point in time.
We have tried to hold off from increasing our fees as we know households are struggling at the moment with the increased cost of living. We understand, this increase can only make healthcare more unaffordable and more inequitable.
However, with government funding increasing by only 4.88% in the last year, and our costs having risen more than 9% this last 12 months alone, we have been left with no other choice.
We have warned the government on multiple occasions that if they didn’t increase funding levels, we would have to increase fees to help cover our costs or we would have to close the practice. Frustratingly, our warnings have been disregarded.
Please know this is a last resort, and is not a decision we have taken lightly, as we truly understand the impact this will have on whānau.
We strongly encourage you to write to the Minister of Health, Dr Shane Reti, as well as your local MP (we can provide you with a templated letter and contact details or you can draft your own), expressing your dismay at the increase in fees and outlining the impact the increase will have on you and your whānau.
Ngā mihi nui,
Te Atatu South Medical Centre