Sharon Smith, 53, would drive her son Ethan from Gore to Dunedin and back for chemotherapy every day for weeks at a time. Under the Government's National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme, Smith said, they could get about $200 reimbursed to cover petrol for about three trips. Other times they would drive back to Gore that same day, Smith said. "According to NTA, patients admitted through ED don't qualify. "It needs an overhaul, what NTA entitles patients to is woeful given the cost-of-living increases that patients have seen," Elwood said.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 15, 2022 05:46 UTC