# Question 33: I'm a sole parent with a preschool child, renting and working part time. Childcare costs and support rules affect how many hours I can take on. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about the cost and availability of healthcare for children and their parents? Collected 31 October 2026 [NZ Election 2026 · Edition 7 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/7) ## ChatGPT Answer ID: 2479be87-2ef0-4b4c-a0c7-b25ea7fc0736 # 2026 New Zealand election: healthcare policies affecting parents and children For a sole parent renting and working part-time, healthcare policy is about more than whether a doctor visit is free. It can affect your weekly budget, whether you can get your preschooler treated promptly, and whether you can stay healthy enough to work additional hours. The main issues worth comparing are: 1. GP costs: What you pay when you or your child needs a doctor. 2. Prescriptions: Whether medicines are free or subsidised. 3. Children's healthcare: GP visits, dental care, vaccinations and specialist treatment. 4. Your healthcare: Access to primary care, mental health support, reproductive and preventive healthcare. 5. Availability: Whether there are enough doctors, nurses and other health professionals to provide timely appointments. I've used policies and election material available as at 30 October 2026. An important distinction: some proposals are specific, funded commitments with implementation dates; others are broader policy directions without a published delivery timetable. ## 1. Comparing the main parties The following is a comparison of the positions published for the 2026 election, rather than a prediction of what a future government will implement. | Party | Main healthcare approach | | --- | --- | | Labour | Three free GP visits per person annually, free prescriptions and free maternity scans. | | Green Party | Move towards free publicly funded primary healthcare and dental care for everyone. | | National | More medicines funded, more treatment capacity, digital consultations and workforce expansion. | | ACT | Increase medicine funding and expand the services pharmacists and other healthcare providers can deliver. | | New Zealand First | Prevention-focused healthcare, greater GP autonomy and changes to medicine access and primary care. | | Te Pāti Māori | Free primary healthcare, dental care and medicines, with greater investment in Māori-led and whānau-centred services. | | Opportunity (TOP) | A 10-year cross-party health plan, more primary-care funding and greater emphasis on prevention. | Sources: [Policy.nz's 2026 health comparison](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/health?utm_source=chatgpt.com), [New Zealand Medical Journal's election health analysis](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery?utm_source=chatgpt.com) and [2026 policy summaries](https://apex.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). [Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/health)[2026 Election Policy Summaries](https://apex.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/)[Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery)[NZ Election 2026 Health Policies for Resident Doctors](https://nzrda.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/) ## 2. What each party's proposals mean in practice ### Labour Specific cost-reduction commitments Labour's approach puts particular emphasis on reducing the cost of seeing a doctor and obtaining medicines. Its published commitments include: - Three free GP or nurse visits each year for every person entitled to publicly funded healthcare, through a new Medicard. - Remove the $5 prescription charge from 1 July 2027. - Free maternity scans for referred patients from July 2028. - Free cervical screening for people aged 25–69 from October 2027. - A family doctor loan scheme to encourage more doctors to own and operate general practices. - Funding for 24 additional trainee sonographer positions and a guarantee of jobs for eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurses. Labour says the three free visits would be available through your enrolled practice. What this could mean for your household: You could have fewer GP costs when you need medical attention yourself. Your preschooler already qualifies for free standard GP visits under the existing under-14 policy, so the biggest direct GP-cost change may be for you rather than your child. The prescription proposal could also reduce your medicine costs, although medicines must still be prescribed and funded under the relevant rules. Labour says its healthcare commitments are funded through its proposed targeted capital gains tax. [Labour's Cost of Living Plan](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/2026-election-policy-summary-pages/cost-of-living-plan/)[Labour's 2026 Election Policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/our-policies/)[NZ Election 2026 Health Policies for Resident Doctors](https://nzrda.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/) ### Green Party Broad public healthcare expansion The Greens propose a wider transformation of healthcare, including: - Moving towards fully publicly funded GP and nurse services. - Free dental care for all New Zealanders. - Expanding publicly funded mental health services. - Investing in community-based and preventive healthcare. - More support for Māori health providers and accessible services. - Increased investment in health workers and primary care. What this could mean for your household: Free adult dental care is particularly relevant because children already have access to publicly funded basic dental services, whereas adults generally face substantial out-of-pocket dental costs. Free GP and nurse services could also make it easier to seek care for yourself without worrying about the consultation fee. However, the Greens' proposals are broader policy commitments, and not all have detailed implementation dates or individual costings published. [Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery)[Election 2026](https://www.dentalforall.nz/election)[Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery) ### National Party National's 2026 health approach largely continues the direction of its current government programme. Its emphasis includes: - Funding additional medicines through Pharmac. - Expanding access to online and after-hours healthcare. - Increasing the number of healthcare professionals. - Improving hospital capacity and reducing treatment waiting times. - Expanding the use of pharmacists and other health professionals. - Continuing investment in medical training, including the Waikato medical school. National's published health policy is titled More medicines and earlier care. One important existing arrangement is that children aged under 14 are entitled to free standard GP visits, while prescription charges are waived for children under 14. For adults, the $5 prescription charge was reinstated in 2024, with exemptions for certain groups. What this could mean for your household: Your preschooler's existing free GP entitlement continues, while National's approach is more about improving treatment availability and medicine access than introducing universally free adult GP appointments. The key question is whether additional capacity translates into appointments you can actually get when needed. [2026 Election Policy](https://www.national.org.nz/policies)[Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery)[Should GP visits or prescriptions be free?](https://undecided.nz/issues/gp-and-prescription-costs/) ### ACT ACT's health proposals focus on making the existing system more efficient and expanding the roles of healthcare providers. Its policies include: - Increasing the proportion of the health budget spent on medicines, with a goal of reaching 12% by 2033. - Allowing pharmacists to treat more everyday conditions. - Giving pharmacists greater ability to manage long-term conditions, order blood tests and adjust medicines within GP-set limits. - Removing barriers to opening new pharmacies. - Increasing choice and competition in healthcare. What this could mean for your household: More conditions might be treated at a pharmacy rather than requiring a GP appointment. That could improve convenience and potentially reduce the need for paid consultations. However, this does not amount to a commitment to make GP visits or adult dental care universally free. [2026 Election Policy Summaries](https://apex.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/)[Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery) ### New Zealand First NZ First's health proposals emphasise prevention and changes to the way primary healthcare is delivered. They include: - Greater professional autonomy for GPs. - Health coaches in primary care. - Greater emphasis on nutrition and preventive healthcare. - Changes intended to reduce barriers to medicines through Medsafe and Pharmac. - Initiatives involving vitamin C and D. What this could mean for your household: The focus is on improving prevention and the way care is delivered, rather than a clearly specified universal reduction in GP fees. The published proposals provide less detail about direct reductions in everyday healthcare charges for parents. [2026 Election Policy Summaries](https://apex.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/)[NZ Election 2026 Health Policies for Resident Doctors](https://nzrda.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/) ### Te Pāti Māori Te Pāti Māori's health proposals include: - Investing in free primary healthcare for all whānau. - Free dental care. - Free medication delivery for whānau. - Strengthening Māori-led healthcare. - Shifting healthcare towards prevention and whānau wellbeing. - Improving culturally safe and accessible services. What this could mean for your household: The proposals cover several costs that can affect families, including adult dental care, prescriptions and primary healthcare. Its emphasis on whānau-centred services is also relevant to families who face difficulties navigating health services. The published manifesto does not provide a detailed implementation timetable or item-by-item costings for all these commitments. [Should GP visits or prescriptions be free?](https://undecided.nz/issues/gp-and-prescription-costs/)[NZ Election 2026 Health Policies for Resident Doctors](https://nzrda.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/)[Election 2026](https://www.dentalforall.nz/election) ### Opportunity (The Opportunities Party / TOP) TOP proposes a long-term health plan called Healthy People. Its main ideas include: - A 10-year cross-party health plan. - Increasing health spending towards 9% of GDP. - Directing a greater proportion of funding towards primary healthcare. - More preventive healthcare. - Reducing the influence of commercial interests on health regulation. What this could mean for your household: More funding for primary care could improve access to GPs and community health services over time. However, TOP's central proposal is a system-wide funding and planning approach, rather than a specific promise to remove GP charges or prescription costs. [Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery)[2026 Election Policy Summaries](https://apex.org.nz/resources/2026-election-policy-summaries/) ## 3. Children's healthcare: what is already free and what might change? This is important because some election promises sound like new benefits but may already be available to your child. | Healthcare service | Existing entitlement | | --- | --- | | Standard GP visits | Free for children under 14 at eligible practices | | Prescriptions | No $5 prescription charge for children under 14 | | Basic dental care | Publicly funded dental care generally available from birth until age 18 | | Well Child/Tamariki Ora | Free checks and support for children from birth to five | | Immunisations | Free routine childhood immunisations under the national programme | The important distinction is between basic entitlement and practical availability. Free services do not necessarily mean you can get an appointment quickly or access every treatment without additional costs. The adult dental-care gap is particularly worth noting. Labour has committed to improving delivery of the free dental care children are already entitled to. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori have proposed broader free dental care, including for adults. Dental for All's election comparison, published on 27 October 2026, identifies these differences and notes that National, ACT and NZ First had not published specific adult dental-care commitments at that date. [Election 2026](https://www.dentalforall.nz/election)[Should GP visits or prescriptions be free?](https://undecided.nz/issues/gp-and-prescription-costs/) ## 4. Healthcare availability: not just the price For a working parent, an appointment that is free but unavailable during practical hours may not help much. Here are some important differences between the parties: | Party | Approach to improving availability | | --- | --- | | Labour | More GP appointments, family doctor loans and graduate nurse employment guarantees | | Greens | Expand publicly funded primary care, community care and health workforce | | National | Hospital capacity, digital consultations, after-hours services and medical training | | ACT | More pharmacy services and greater provider choice | | NZ First | More autonomy for GPs and health coaches | | Te Pāti Māori | Stronger Māori-led and community-based healthcare | | TOP | Long-term workforce and primary-care planning | A key issue is that more funding does not automatically mean more appointments. The number of GPs, nurses, dentists and other professionals available will affect whether these promises translate into accessible care. The New Zealand Medical Journal's election analysis identifies workforce shortages as a challenge across several parties' proposals. [Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery)[Election 2026 and health: promises, priorities and delivery](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery) ## 5. What I would pay particular attention to in your circumstances Without suggesting which party you should vote for, I'd separate the practical effects into four areas. ![Primary and community health care | Ministry of Health NZ](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/B-c33BexeFMy4JTH_G2FWf4o7T-PdA_99yOpCPeUMuF7ODz_ubcnPzCQXkAp6P21DS_Wxkqj2z33vah6c12D-6wn6ZNJpevI3d_C4wWXXctC_9F416hxHt5khpmu2PSQqX-2dGMKAQfy6wrqmAhxe1cS6cEzH5Q6U3l35oQaRYU?purpose=inline) Your own GP costs Labour's three free visits are a specific proposal. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori propose broader free primary care. National and ACT emphasise other ways of improving access. ![Mature woman having teeth examining at dentist](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/SdaX9NMC7vvjZvuBWC4z6ueJ0-NiprC6ucBRM4S1cOxvX8V4_c5XZSR1d2GzwBO24DYX_WkPSvFuIbUbd009bvAoq3mjFWv3f67CuR2dW_mBcAD5DmFB8_8enwekkFOYOLK3o9MtS5p42FETugFivxp_Va9VKC4Z5nIKRkr1riYCMMcYObXAzGIKdkByINA6?purpose=inline) Your dental costs Adult dental care is a major difference between the published Green and Te Pāti Māori proposals and parties without a comparable published commitment. ![Children's Medical Appointment](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/Yw25ovCWu0eKL_grLf6LBV-BMvvxvP7-fVesM8wsEdQojKW8tE3Kwyz-5XpUmzQpuSQH51OV-gA3LHmK8fGrBXdacNs8EZcPXlVUhOtOyyO-r-dBRQ_dWywS__BukbZUA2HjsEwvEk9HQCSM1aV54x6ytrLN781qxenQhyh5ubQjdKid7jP4OhX6gaIMEcBi?purpose=inline) Your child's healthcare Existing free GP and dental entitlements are important. Consider whether parties are proposing additional services, improved access or simply maintaining existing entitlements. ![Patient talking to the doctor](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/7Kiu9_0WRtBr7h6byig1nMC-zEPuZIn4ALgifxA-_PSeftoustx5HYRCuxBSx38heSBl1vkGkETWZHZyfv8tJVW7UPxmOkTi_ADxIzFZubjmDQ_uPd792zwjxlzFlOIabvkC7x7ZyT31jXkc9OYvnY4rsgLZrXp5hKCQiKOZypw95EQFkxDaQylrcnxuF7PN?purpose=inline) Your own ongoing health Mental healthcare, reproductive healthcare, preventive screening and affordable prescriptions can all affect your ability to work and care for your child. ## 6. Questions worth asking before deciding your vote I would look beyond the headline promises and ask: 1. Would I pay less for my own GP appointments, not just my child's? 2. Would I be able to access free or affordable adult dental treatment? 3. Would prescription costs decrease for me? 4. Would I have better access to mental health services? 5. Would there be enough GPs and nurses to provide appointments when my child or I are unwell? 6. Are the policies fully costed, and when would they actually start? For checking the detail, these are useful independent resources: - [Policy.nz – Compare 2026 party health policies](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/health?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - [NZ Election 2026 – Dental for All comparison](https://www.dentalforall.nz/election?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - [New Zealand Medical Journal – Election 2026 health analysis](https://www.nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1643/election-2026-and-health-promises-priorities-and-delivery?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - [Undecided – GP and prescription costs comparison](https://undecided.nz/issues/gp-and-prescription-costs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ## 7. One further issue I wouldn't overlook: childcare and your ability to work Although you asked about healthcare, your ability to increase your working hours is also affected by childcare subsidies, Working for Families, the sole-parent benefit and work obligations. These policies interact with healthcare costs. For example, if you can save on GP visits, prescriptions and dental treatment, that may leave more money available for childcare and other household expenses. I would assess healthcare alongside: - Childcare subsidies and the 20 Hours ECE entitlement. - Whether increasing working hours reduces your benefit or other support. - Working for Families eligibility and payments. - Whether work-related childcare expenses are adequately supported. My suggestion: Treat these as two connected election questions: what will healthcare cost your household, and how much support will you retain if you increase your working hours? I can also put together a party-by-party comparison of childcare subsidies, Working for Families, sole-parent benefit rules, work obligations and housing support for the 2026 election, so you can see how the policies might affect your actual household finances. ## Gemini Answer ID: a6a35701-b9df-4b7a-acc5-051b70659fba For a sole parent working part-time and renting with a preschooler, the cost and availability of healthcare, alongside how it intersects with family support and work incentives, are central issues in the **2026 New Zealand general election**. The political parties offer distinct approaches to lowering healthcare costs, expanding primary care access, and shaping family support. --- ### Major Parties' Healthcare Proposals #### **New Zealand Labour Party** * **Primary Healthcare Access:** Labour's headline health policy is the introduction of a **"Medicard," which provides three free general practitioner (GP) consultations each year** for everyone entitled to publicly funded healthcare. * **Prescriptions:** They propose restoring **universally free prescriptions** for all funded medicines. * **Maternity & Family Health:** Labour is also campaigning on free maternity scans and free cervical screening, aimed at reducing direct out-of-pocket health costs for families. * **Funding:** These health policies are proposed to be funded through a targeted capital gains tax on specified residential investment and commercial property. #### **New Zealand National Party** * **Targeted Health Investments:** National’s approach centers on fiscal restraint while focusing heavily on expanding funding for specific frontline services and medicines rather than universal free GP visits. They have committed significant multi-million-dollar funding increases to Pharmac to broaden access to cancer and other life-saving medications. * **Parent & Child Support:** Under their "Plan for Parents," National focuses on early family support, including rolling out 3-day postnatal stays for mothers, streamlining children's bank accounts, and enhancing KiwiSaver (including a birth contribution/Baby Boost). * **Work & Cost of Living:** National emphasizes keeping taxes low with no new taxes, aiming to make work pay for parents balancing part-time employment and childcare. #### **Green Party** * **Expanded Free Healthcare:** The Greens advocate for a broader expansion of publicly funded healthcare, encompassing both physical and mental health services. * **Cost-of-Living & Support:** For families and parents, they propose major cost-of-living relief packages and extending Paid Parental Leave to 15 months to give parents more breathing room during a child's early years. #### **Te Pāti Māori** * **Whānau-Led Care:** Te Pāti Māori places an emphasis on Māori health equity and whānau wellbeing, proposing to rebuild a Māori-led health authority. * **Free Services:** Their platform includes advocating for **free dental and primary healthcare for all whānau**, alongside targeted lower screening ages and community-based mobile health units. --- ### How These Policies Connect to Your Situation * **Direct Cost Relief:** If visiting the doctor or picking up prescriptions forms a regular chunk of your household budget when your preschooler gets sick, policies from parties like Labour (free GP visits and prescriptions) or Te Pāti Māori (free primary healthcare for whānau) are explicitly designed to remove those upfront cash barriers. * **System Capacity & Wait Times:** Parties currently in government (such as National) argue that pouring money into universal free GP visits could strain an already stretched primary workforce. Instead, their focus is on boosting Pharmac medicines and keeping income taxes down so you retain more of your part-time earnings. * **Balancing Work and Care:** Because your hours are tied to childcare costs and support rules, broader cost-of-living measures—such as the Greens' extended paid parental leave or National/Labour's respective tax and family support adjustments—interact directly with how feasible it is to scale your work hours up or down. Are there specific types of support (such as childcare subsidies or Working for Families tax credits) that you are weighing alongside healthcare costs as you decide your vote? ## Google AI Mode Answer ID: d0b55c58-7834-4f39-8307-4c0646562596 As a sole parent working part-time with a preschooler, managing healthcare costs and access is a key factor when balancing your hours and household budget. For the **_2026 New Zealand general election_** , political parties have outlined distinct approaches to primary healthcare, prescriptions, and family-focused health services. The broad landscape of party proposals regarding healthcare costs and availability for parents and children highlights these core approaches: Parties on the Left (e.g., Labour, Green Party) Parties advocating for expanded public funding generally focus on removing direct out-of-pocket costs at the clinic door to ease cost-of-living pressures for families. * **Primary and GP Care:** Labour has pledged to introduce up to three free GP visits per year for adults (funded via a capital gains tax proposal), which directly impacts working parents trying to manage their own health alongside a child's. * **Maternity and Preventative Scans:** Proposals include making all referred pregnancy/maternity scans free, as well as providing free cervical screening. * **Prescriptions:** Policies emphasize removing prescription co-payments and charges (such as the previous $5 prescription charge) to reduce ongoing medication costs for households. * **Dental Care:** The Green Party has campaigned on rolling out universal free dental care, which would benefit low-income and sole-parent households. Parties Currently in Government / Center-Right (e.g., National, ACT, NZ First) Governing and center-right parties focus more on funding efficiency, workforce retention, primary care capacity, and preventative lifestyle/metabolic health rather than blanket free-at-the-point-of-service schemes. * **GP and Workforce Support:** ACT has proposed targeted funding boosts (such as a $400 million package) aimed at retaining general practitioners in New Zealand and recruiting more from overseas to ensure appointment availability. * **Pharmac and Medicines:** The governing focus leans toward making current health funding stretch further by expanding the list of government-subsidized medicines through Pharmac, rather than universal fee removals. * **Efficiency and Expanded Roles:** Proposals include increasing the scope of work handled by community pharmacists and physician associates to help patients access routine care and advice faster without always needing a traditional GP booking. * **Preventative Health:** New Zealand First’s health platform emphasizes preventative measures—such as focusing on metabolic health, nutrition in schools, and targeted hospital trials—rather than primary care subsidies. Considerations for Your Situation When reviewing these policies against your specific situation as a sole parent: * **Immediate Cash Flow vs. System Availability:** While zero-fee or subsidized GP/prescription policies directly reduce weekly out-of-pocket costs, health commentators note that free visits still rely on physical clinic and GP availability. * **Where to Compare Further:** You can review and cross-examine the exact policy toolkits and full party manifestos on non-partisan guides like Policy.nz or check official electoral resources at [Vote.nz](https://vote.nz). ## AI Overviews Answer ID: b6a6e057-eaec-468a-ab5d-f6c614f1a0b5 For the **2026 New Zealand general election** , the major political parties have laid out distinct visions for healthcare. Because children under 14 already qualify for free daytime general practice (GP) visits and free prescriptions under current national rules, the parties' 2026 platforms focus heavily on **reducing healthcare costs for you as a parent** , expanding **maternal and early-years support** , and addressing **workforce shortages** to make sure appointments are actually available when you need them. * * * 🏥 Left-of-Center Parties: Focus on Lowering Direct Costs If you are looking to lower your personal out-of-pocket medical bills, the center-left and left-wing parties focus heavily on expanding free access and universal subsidies. * **Labour Party:** * **Direct Parent Relief:** Labour is proposing a new **Medicard system** that grants **three free GP or nurse visits per year** for every adult New Zealander. * **Prescriptions:** They pledge to completely **remove the $5 prescription copayment fee** for funded medicines by July 2027. * **Early Support:** They plan to fund **free referred maternity scans** starting in July 2028. * **Availability:** To ensure you can book an appointment, Labour promises to **guarantee jobs for New Zealand-trained graduate nurses** from 2027 and introduce a "Family Doctor Loan Scheme" to help new GPs buy into community practices. * **Green Party:** * **Early Years Funding:** The Greens are focusing heavily on early childhood support, proposing to expand the **Best Start payment into a universal child benefit** for all children under three. * **System Overhaul:** They are promising a massive multi-billion-dollar health funding boost to expand hospital capacity and have warned against the creeping privatization of public health services. waateanews.com * **Te Pāti Māori:** * **Income-Based Free Care:** They support introducing entirely **free primary care and dental care** for all whānau with an household income under $60,000. whichparty.nz * **The Opportunities Party (TOP):** * **Teal Card:** TOP proposes free primary healthcare, mental healthcare, and dental care for anyone **under the age of 30** via their "Teal Card" policy. whichparty.nz * * * 🩺 Right-of-Center Parties: Focus on Capacity, Targeted Funding, and Efficiency The governing right-of-center parties argue that making services "free" is ineffective if workforce shortages prevent you from getting a timely appointment. They focus on infrastructure, primary care capacity, and medicine access. rnz.co.nz * **National Party:** * **Primary Care Capacity:** National points to their **$447 million investment into primary care capacity** and their work expanding urgent, after-hours, and online telehealth GP options. * **Targeted Funding:** National's core healthcare pledge is to **redirect $604 million from foreign aid** directly into the Pharmac budget to purchase more specialized medicines. * **Maternal Choice:** Their budget settings allow for **longer funded postnatal hospital stays** for new mothers who want them. nzmj.org.nz * **ACT New Zealand:** * **GP Retention:** ACT is proposing targeted funding boosts specifically aimed at **retaining local GPs and attracting overseas doctors** to resolve booking delays. * **Medicines:** They plan to increase Pharmac’s budget by 1% each year to align New Zealand's medicine availability with Australia and the OECD average. * **New Zealand First:** * **Waitlist Reduction:** NZ First is prioritizing a **$925 million waitlist reduction fund** to get patients through hospital elective surgery pipelines faster. * **Preventative Health:** They are championing public health policies centered around metabolic health and nutrition to prevent chronic illnesses before they require primary care intervention. * * * 📊 Summary Comparison for Parents Policy Feature| National / ACT / NZ First| Labour / Greens / Te Pāti Māori ---|---|--- **GP Doctor Visits for Adults**| Focus on expanding **online/telehealth GP access** and after-hours capacity.| **3 entirely free GP visits per year** (Labour) or free for incomes under $60k (Te Pāti Māori). **Prescription Fees**| Maintain standard targeted subsidy frameworks.| **Abolish the $5 prescription co-payment** for everyone (Labour). **Workforce & Availability**| Focus on **recruiting overseas doctors** and filling vacancies to cut wait times.| **Job guarantee for local graduate nurses** and practice-buying loans for community GPs. **Early Childhood Support**| Support for **longer postnatal stays** for new mothers.| **Free maternity scans** and converting Best Start into a **universal under-3 benefit**. * * * Would you like more details on how these parties' broader **Working for Families** changes or **childcare subsidy adjustments** might impact the exact number of hours you can work part-time?