Health Care in New Zealand

In New Zealand hospitals are public and treat citizens or permanent residents free of charge and are managed by District Health Boards. Under the Labour coalition governments (1999 - 2008), there were plans to make primary health care available free of charge. At present government subsidies exist in health care. The cost of visiting a GP ranges from Free to $45.00 for children and from Free to $75.00 for adults under the current subsidies. This system is funded by taxes. The New Zealand government agency PHARMAC subsidizes certain pharmaceuticals depending upon their category. Co-payments exist, however these are lower if the user has a Community Services Card or High User Health Card. In 2005, New Zealand spent 8.9% of GDP on health care, or US$2,403 per capita. Of that, approximately 77% was government expenditure