Surprisingly, although age has figured in the American election campaign, forcing President Biden out of the race, one seldom reads about it in the NZ press. The fact that 75 year old Sir Peter Gluckman (who was John Key's Chief Scientific Adviser) has been brought back by National to advise on how to reform our universities received little attention. This week the Nats have been at it again, reincarnating another of Key's mates to run NZ. Today it comes in the shape of my former Adjunct Professor colleague, who popped up a few years later as a Professor at Auckland University of Technology, 70 year old Lester Levy. He was appointed by Key to Chair Counties Manukau District Health Board in 2016, having previously been appointed by my former Auckland Grammar class-mate, Jonathan Coleman (who was Minister of Health) to Chair both Waitemata & Auckland District Health Boards, as well as Auckland Transport. Levy has now been selected to run the newly-created Health NZ.
Isn't it great how things run in NZ? Luxon quietly calls Key for advice about health-care & universities - and John says to Chris, "Look mate, Peter and Lester were great when they served me as PM - why not give them another whirl?" For Gluckman & Levy, it must seem like nothing has changed since the Key Glory Days. So what's the problem? Shouldn't the best person get the job, regardless of age, gender or race? Of course. But changing the deck chairs, shuffling faces & names of people at the top, and declaring an outfit "Under New Management" has little to do with solving our health system's woes. Whether NZ has one centralized authority like Health NZ, or several slightly more decentralized ones (in the form of District Health Boards, as National prefers) won't fix the problems. Our UK-style National Health System is a failing model of health-care. The UK's one is falling apart along the same lines as ours. Systems based upon single state provision of health-care services, as well as single state payments for health bills, are defunct.
A broad outline of the solution is straightforward. Universal health-care is vital to ensure an equitable society. Everyone must be insured for health-care needs. However the supply of such services should come substantially, but not entirely, from the private sector. Providers must compete on quality. Unlike NZ's system, people should have choice as to who is their provider. Every Kiwi should be able to go private if they wish. Bills should be paid by social insurance so no-one is denied the best health-care on affordability grounds. Such a system is running successfully in many nations. For an example of how it can work in NZ, see my Treasury presentation. Whether it's Levy or a Man from Mars, shifting bosses won't work. When will the PM realize his latest job is different from his corporate ones? His new job is to change the rules to achieve the best outcomes, not just change the players & management.
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