Close the Pharmac funding gap by lifting medicines spending
ACT leader and Pharmac minister David Seymour announced on 26 July 2026 that an ACT government would increase the share of health spending that goes to medicines by one percentage point each year, reaching about 12 percent by 2033. Seymour said New Zealand currently spends around 4.9 percent of its health budget on medicines, against an OECD average of 13.3 percent, and pointed to 139 treatments sitting on Pharmac's Options for Investment list. ACT says the change would take annual medicines spending to roughly 2.0 to 2.2 billion dollars in 2027/28 and 5.4 to 6.1 billion dollars by 2033/34. Labour leader Chris Hipkins welcomed the direction, calling it sensible especially for preventative medicines, while National's health spokesperson Simeon Brown noted the government has funded 66 new medicines since 2023 without taking a position on ACT's plan.
This overview is summarised by AI from public sources. It may contain errors and is a guide, not the definitive record — we welcome corrections.
Key milestones
ACT pledges to lift medicines funding toward OECD levels
ACT would raise Pharmac's share of the health budget by one percentage point a year to about 12 percent by 2033, lifting annual medicines spending to a projected 5.4 to 6.1 billion dollars by 2033/34. Seymour framed it as closing the gap with the OECD average of 13.3 percent, up from about 4.9 percent now. Hipkins backed the direction; National's Simeon Brown pointed to 66 medicines funded since 2023.
Sources
- NZ Herald: Medicines to get larger share of health funding under Act policy ↗
- RNZ: ACT campaigns to close the Pharmac funding gap ↗