19/06/2026
FUNDING UPDATE
I’m really pleased to tell you that the changes to rural funding have been revoked for the next year. Health New Zealand heard us when we told them that rural health services would become unsustainable if hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of funding was lost. Rural funding changes are not off the table though - a working group will still be looking at rural funding changes over the next year. This means that there is likely still a guillotine hanging over our heads.
We have tried to talk to ACC and Scott Simpson, our MP and ACC minister, as we are concerned that the ACC changes to the definition of rural still stand to change in 2028, and at that point we may lose the rural ACC contract. This would mean the loss of several hundred thousand dollars worth of funding with implications for our emergency clinics. Sadly we haven’t been able to get much engagement from ACC or Scott at this time.
Health New Zealand have also made broad changes to the way that general practice is funded. Whilst the thinking behind these changes is positive and means that more money should go to those patients with greater need, more work is required to ensure that the funding formula is actually fair and equitable.
Unfortunately, the new changes mean that 35% of general practices in New Zealand will actually have a real terms funding LOSS in the coming years. This is because the government has re-weighted the funding provided for each patient, but has not increased the funding pot sufficiently to ensure that every practice receives sustainable funding going forwards.
Health NZ determined that practices need an increase of 6.32% to meet the rising cost of providing care and keeping fees stable. However the way that capitation has been re-weighted means that many practices, including ours, will receive LESS than 6.32%. To meet rising costs, our fees will increase to match the amount that a 6.32% funding uplift would have given us. This rise in our fees will ensure that we can continue to provide a full range of medical services and support us in ongoing staff recruitment and training.
I want to thank everyone that supported our petition. I genuinely believe we helped shape Health NZ’s decision. We will continue to advocate to ensure that all general practices receive sufficient funding from Health NZ without requiring patients to make up the difference.
