The Post: Budget 2026: How much funding is needed to make Health healthy?

A $1.37 billion increase for health sounds like a lot.

But as new analysis by Dr Bill Rosenberg and Dr Jacqueline (Jackie) Cumming shows, the system needs around $1.405 billion in Budget 2026 just to stand still.

That doesn't improve things, reduce waitlists, make it easier to see a GP, or rebuild exhausted essential services.

If you've been following our work this week, you'll know this amount of money barely keeps the lights on.

In this new opinion piece published by The Post, Dr Bill Rosenberg breaks down the real numbers behind Budget 2026 health funding, and why headline figures often sound far more impressive than the reality people experience on the ground.

His piece looks at growing unmet healthcare need, workforce shortages, underfunded primary care, inequities in Hauora Māori, and the widening gap between New Zealand and comparable OECD countries. It also warns that an estimated $6.8 billion more per year is needed to bring key parts of the health system up to a reasonable standard.

This is absolutely worth a read before tomorrow’s Budget announcements start flying around.

https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/361012486/budget-2026-how-much-funding-needed-make-health-healthy