Increasing prescription part charges will increase health inequalities in New Zealand

[Extract] Prescription charges will increase from $3 to $5 under the latest Budget announcement. The new charges will apply up to a maximum of 20 items and the Government argues that money saved would be reinvested in other health initiatives. The changes to prescription charges will impact negatively on health and healthcare costs, and increase health inequalities. Our research based on 2004 data clearly showed that while 7% of respondents deferred picking up a prescription in the previous 12 months because they could not afford the cost of the prescription, a much higher proportion of Māori (14%) and Pacific people (15%) reported putting off paying for prescription medication