Features

Budget 2008: Health

Budget 2008 invests $750 million in health care for all New Zealanders: including more funding for elective surgery, investing in primary and public health, and focussing on children and youth – where early intervention counts the most.

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Since 1999 the government has made a priority of investing in primary health care, new hospitals, the prevention of disease and investment in doctor’s and nurses.

Reducing the cost of seeing a doctor for patients in Primary Health Care organisations, and lowering prescription costs to $3;
B4 school health checks for children starting school are being rolled out this year to catch problems which may hinder learning;
Screening for breast cancer has been expanded and the campaign to fight obesity is advancing.
We have rebuilt 33 new or upgraded hospitals, invested in 1200 more doctors and more than 4000 extra nurses and increased funding for elective surgery each year.

Budget 2008 continues to focus on the prevention of disease and proactive health promotion. As life expectancy continues to increase we are increasing funds for elective procedures such as joint replacements. At the opposite end of the lifecycle we are focusing on disease prevention in our young through increases in immunisation and the rebuilding of oral health services that were closed or curtailed during the 1990s.

$160 million over the next four years will help an estimated 5000 more people receive elective surgery each year, and increase access to diagnostics, specialist assessments and outpatient procedures for 12,000 more patients through their GPs;
$52 million will be invested over four years to fight obesity, there will also be an additional $80 million over four years to implement next steps of the primary care strategy;
$164.2 million over five years for HPV vaccinations, $79 million over four years for oral health services, $40 million for the pneumococcal vaccine.

OTHER REGIONS +NORTHERN