Among 16 comparable countries, no other country has shrunk its public health expenditure as a percentage of GDP to the extent New Zealand has.
- Professor of Health Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
COVID models helped counter the virus but revealed less about the impacts of emergency measures. More sophisticated modelling can help balance those trade-offs.
Pharmac could base its purchasing decisions on how much health improvement the same amount of money would achieve in other parts of the health system.
New Zealand is not unique – health systems in most high-income countries are under stress. But that’s no reason to question the viability of the publicly-funded system in general.
The Associate Health Minister’s letter of expectations for Pharmac includes things that could fundamentally alter its core objective of getting the best health outcomes within its budget.
Cancer patients will benefit from the investment but so will people with other health conditions because the funding also covers medicines that Pharmac ranked as more important.
The government says funding for COVID vaccines and antivirals are up for consideration next year. With so much unknown about the long-term impact of COVID, will cost become a barrier to access?
Most parties are promising more funding for the government drug-buying agency. But two likely coalition partners are suggesting a new – and possibly risky – approach to medicines procurement.
New Zealand’s reopening borders may not be enough to attract nurses and doctors who may be able to earn more and have better opportunities elsewhere.
For now, the UK will continue with its age-based prioritisation, but there’s a case for key workers and the socially disadvantaged to start feeding into the vaccine queue.
Labour politician Barry Gardiner claims that people’s experience of the NHS has got remarkably worse.
Promises in the Tory manifesto on the NHS fall well short of what is needed.
There appears to be a fundamental mismatch between politicians and clinicians views of the crisis, so here are the facts.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan will be busy tonight handing down the Federal Budget with all the policy settings we’ll need to ensure Australia’s future prosperity (and not simply as a re-election platform…
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