The amount the country's hospitals owe to more than a quarter of a million people who work for them has exploded to almost $2 billion.
But the delays in sorting out how to pay people are only getting worse.
A new internal update obtained by RNZ shows more than half the 20 health districts have not even started crucial tasks that must be done by next March to trigger any payout from the government.
Phil Pennington is looking into this.
