What the hell is happening with Health NZ & Tend Health?

Health NZ gives conflicting statements while Simeon Brown deflects Plus: Health Minister Matt Doocey does not address 30% mental health vacancies.

OPINION/ANALYSIS:

“Why, How, and What Happened?”

Last night, 1News revealed that Tend Health was granted Primary Health Organisation (“PHO”) status days after Health NZ lifted its ban¹ on new PHOs.

I’ve covered² Tend Health over the last few months. My last article estimated an outfit like that could easily get up to $1.358 million³ in management fees from taxpayers every year.⁴

And of course it could be all up from there. The above is just for management.

PHOs can charge patient fees directly too, and as patient numbers increase, so does taxpayer funding.

There’s nothing wrong with all that, of course - and there is no inference of any wrongdoing here on the part of Tend or the Robinsons.

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But, I think, the National government and Health NZ actions deserve scrutiny.

The 1News report⁵ sees Health Minister Simeon Brown shadily deny any involvement in the Tend decision, and directs questions to Health NZ executives.

Unfortunately, HNZ National Director Jason Powers seemed similarly reticent, but eventually gave in with a statement.

Quote:

“So after the process of Health NZ changing the policy, Tend then made an application for an PHO.

We considered that, and it was issued.”

But wait.

Cecilia Robinson told 1News that, she didn’t even want Tend Health to become the coveted PHO status.

She pretty much inferred Health NZ insisted Tend become one.

According to a public health contact, it’s very difficult to become a PHO, and many applicants have been knocked back over the years.

She also said there are many significant and established telehealth providers already within the PHO network.

“Practice Plus, CareHQ, and Bettr have the telehealth market cornered [in NZ]. Practice Plus is a joint venture amongst some of NZ’s biggest Primary Health Organisations - together they represent just under half the country’s enrolled population.”

And added: “Tell Cecilia she’s dreamin’”…

But in her statement to 1News, shown in the video below, Robinson admits Health NZ told her in December 2024 that Tend (emphasis mine) -

“had to become a PHO themselves, because [Tend] didn’t want to work anymore with 5 local PHOs”

That’s 5 months⁶ before the PHO moratorium was even lifted.

Compare that to Power’s statement above and I believe the contradictions are clear.

The public deserves transparency from Health Minister Simeon Brown and PM Luxon, who met with Robinson in July 2024, and has also been talking up telehealth on Newstalk ZB.

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More Wins for Private Providers As Matt Doocey Ignores Mental Health Vacancies of up to 30%

On top of its coveted PHO status, Tend have also just been awarded a $2 million mental health contract from National i.e. more taxpayers’ money.

Matt Doocey announced the win, saying Tend would use it to set up a digital primary mental health service.

But consider the wider context here, outside of Tend - redirecting millions of taxpayer money from addressing mental health workforce shortages⁷ to private for-profits instead.

Doocey* has also left other established mental health providers in the lurch - stringing community providers along without information, inserting punitive and rigid contract clauses in at the last minute, and putting more pressure onto them.⁸

In my opinion, what’s happening from this government on health could not be clearer —

Community, not-for-profit and public health / mental health providers are being systematically ignored, weakened, or cut off, while for-profit, private investors, corporates, donor linked groups, and hospitals are being looked after under National/ACT.

Private money receives taxpayer funds and support - while others are left to flounder. And as private providers frequently charge 2, 3, 4, 5 + times the cost for the same procedures, it all leads to greater taxpayer waste . And of course, more public doctors quitting for private practice and/or leaving NZ - as senior doctors have warning loudly over the last year.

It’s not only mental health and hospitals at stake.

It’s our invaluable GP primary health network that is affected here -

Someone said it best as to why ownership matters - so I’ll relay their words here:

“If you are enrolled at a practice that is owned by the staff that work there, then all of that funding and income is circulating back into that local economy and helping retain doctors.

Once the practice is owned by non-health shareholders, the same amount of income is being generated, but a significant portion is now being siphoned off to shareholders, and in many cases those are overseas shareholders so the money is actually leaving the country.

This makes general practice less attractive (as it is essentially reducing GP incomes) at a time when we need it to be more attractive.

The net result in that scenario will always be worse for kiwis in the long run….

Many smaller owners will sell and get a big payday and many of the younger GPs move to Australia or switch to a different areas of medicine - all to the detriment of access to GP in NZ.

This isn't a rule of course, there are a lot of different circumstances, but this is the general direction.”

Think about that - your precious GP network continues to get underfunded.

ACT’s election promise to fund GPs to 13% capitation is broken and ignored, desperate calls by General Practitioners New Zealand are ignored, Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop gaslight doctors about their own pay and ignore strikes….

Simeon Brown in his electorate of Pakuranga this year

This National government knows it’s not working.

So they use excuses, allow it all to fester, lie about the frontline, direct GPs to increase fees so Kiwis get used to higher costs, and other GP practices have to sell or close shop - until it all boils over, people get more desperate, and then — voila, opportunity appears...

It’s called privatisation.

It might be considered entrepreneurship.

It’s usually on our taxpayers’ money.

And private investors profit…

BTW, back to Tend, based on anecdotal evidence I’ve heard, they are buying up practices around NZ.

It really is a big money world under this National Coalition, and from where I stand and watch, the future is not bright.

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Post Script: Health Minister Matt Doocey

Some of you may remember Matt Doocey as the Minister for Mental Health who was responsible for Abuse in Care recommendations, yet didn’t even bother to read the report.

He’s the same Minister who ignores severe mental health resource shortages - up to 30% in some regions - and takes that money to what the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) says is a trial with an “unproven track record”.

Last year, RANZCP urged the Minister to use that money to deliver National’s pre-election promise of training more psychiatrists. It fell on deaf ears.

Doocey also didn’t bother requesting additional psychiatric beds despite them being over capacity.

He’s ignored cases such as a young girl waiting 45 hours for an ED mental health bed, and instead spends time issuing press releases boasting about mental health “progress” under his leadership.

He’s the same Minister that left the Suicide Prevention Office to continue in name, but without any full time staff.

It feels like National’s appointment of a Mental Health Minister was always more for show, and perhaps to redistribute money to preferred providers.

For example, last year, NZ’s Auditor General found National’s grant of $24m to Gumboot Friday “unusual and inconsistent”. Its founder, Mike King, is a proponent of using alcohol to address mental health issues, and the organisation appears to have close links to the Party.

Rest assured though - National knows perception matters, and this week we’ve seen Doocey come out with a series of announcements around funding and mental health results.

Frankly, I don’t believe you, Matt.

1. They call it a “moratorium”

2. My Food Bag Founders' Tend Health Win & My Food Bag's Cecilia Robinson Courts Money For Health

3. As per my last article, my quick back of the envelope calculation, based on fulfilling requirements and Tend’s currently projected patient numbers, Tend could receive up to $1.358 million of taxpayer funding in management fees alone, annually. PHOs can also charge direct patient fees on top, and as patient numbers grow, so can taxpayer funding and revenues. Happy to be corrected if another number comes to light.

4. Should the conditions be met. Note I’m not an expert in this area and have sourced from the Health NZ website on capitation rates.

5. Filed by Benedict Collins

6. Tend declared their PHO status end of May 2025

7. Psychiatrist vacancies are up to 30% in some regions

8. Karen Chhour did a similar thing to Oranga Tamariki providers last year, earning a scathing rebuke from the Auditor General.