The
Ministry of Health (
Manatū Hauora in Māori), formerly the
Department of Health from 1903 to 1993, is a department of the
New Zealand government. This is the channel through which the government channels its funding for health services,
VOTE: Health.
The ministry is overseen by the
Minister of Health in the
New Zealand government cabinet. The current Minister of Health is
Tony Ryall.
History
The Department of Health was formed in 1903 by the merging of other government departments. Its structure remained relatively static even the 1938 Social Security Act where the New Zealand government took a larger role in health purchasing. The department remained actively involved in policy as opposed to purchasing.
By the 1970s problems had appeared in the health system. The high growth rate in hospital expenditure was occurring at a time when the economy was slowing down. Thus, the government was unable to sustain funding this growth.
This led the health system to undergo a series of changes over a 20 year period from the 1980s. During the 1990s the
National government attempted to stream-line the system in a series of reforms such as separating the government purchasing and provision of health care services. During this time the department was renamed as the
Ministry of Health.
Current role
The
Labour-
Alliance coalition government redefined the role of the Ministry of Health as part of Labour's election promises in the
1999 election.
The separate government health service...
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