22 Oct 2025

NZ's drug spend less than half of other countries

From Checkpoint, 5:14 pm on 22 October 2025

New Zealand's drug spend is less than half that of other comparable countries according to a new report by the Institute of Economic Research. It also found Aotearoa spends the highest percentage of its health budget on services like hopsitals & specialists. That top end spend is apparently not reflected in key health outcomes. NZIER principal economist Sarah Hogan spoke to Lisa Owen.