Show me the money: NZ primary healthcare not being financially prioritised

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-03-27 00:01

New Zealand

What does this mean?

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Since 2001, the NZ government has had a strategy to make it easier to see your GP, which in line with global priorities to encourage people to see their local healthcare provider early on instead of most costly specialised services later. First-ever research looked at the slice of the funding pie that NZ’s primary healthcare has been getting compared to all other health spending. On average, NZ allocated 5.4% of its national health budget to primary healthcare (PHC), a share that did not change from 2009-2023. There was only a slight 7% increase in funding when they looked at per capita spending over that same time period. The team says this suggests that successive governments haven’t prioritised funding to align with their healthcare goals. They recommend the government regularly reports PHC funding to improve accountability.