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NZ First on Health

More GPs, end waitlists, replace Pharmac, need-based care

NZ First says it will replace Pharmac with a new medicines agency and spend an extra $1.3 billion on medicines. It wants to set up a fund of $925 million a year to clear the waiting list of 60,000 people. The party says it will recruit around 2,000 extra doctors through immigration and fast-track registration, and set up digital health clinics in areas that are hard to staff. It also wants to abolish the Māori Health Authority and base health care on need, not race.

What they say they'll do

  • Replace Pharmac with a new patient-focused medicines agency, adding $1.3 billion in funding
  • Create a $925 million-a-year GP-controlled fund to clear the 60,000-person waiting list
  • Recruit approximately 2,000 extra doctors through immigration as a priority
  • Fast-track registration of overseas-trained doctors into general practice
  • Set up digital health clinics in hard-to-staff areas, led by nurse practitioners
  • Abolish the Māori Health Authority and base health care on need, not race

Who this affects

People on hospital waiting lists
A dedicated annual fund would allow GPs to purchase specialist appointments and operations for patients currently on the waiting list.
People needing prescription medicines
A new medicines agency with significantly more funding would replace Pharmac, with the stated aim of approving more medicines for patients.
People in rural or hard-to-staff areas
Digital health clinics led by nurse practitioners, connected to GPs and specialists remotely, would be set up in areas that currently struggle to attract staff.
Older New Zealanders (superannuitants)
SuperGold card holders would receive two free GP visits per year, including an annual eye test.
Residential aged-care residents
NZ First says it would fund 2,000 new standard residential care beds over one term of Parliament to address a projected shortfall.

In their own words

“NZ First will make $925m available each year to end the waitlist. GP's know best what their patients' needs are and this fund will enable GP's to buy approved specialist appointments and operations for a healthier New Zealand.”
“NZ First will replace Pharmac with a new agency focused on patients' health and recovery - not cost savings and lack of essential medicines”
“NZ First knows that we need approximately 2000 extra doctors now, not in seven-years' time, so obtaining these doctors will be an immigration priority”
Verify at NZ First — official policy page

Summarised neutrally from NZ First’s own official policy (as at 2026-06-23) and checked by an editor — never paraphrased without the source linked, and never an endorsement. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Health →

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