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Wairarapa MP Georgina Beyer says District Health Boards will receive an extra $137 million in the next financial year, bringing their total new funding for the year to $338 million.
Ms Beyer said this will mean most DHBs, except for Auckland, Canterbury and Otago, will be able to eliminate their deficits by the end of the 2003/04 year.
Health Minister Annnette King today said the extra $137 million, previously unallocated from the $3 billion funding package announced in December 2001, is designed to smooth the path to the population-based funding formula.
"Cabinet recently signed off the final version of the population-based funding formula (PBFF). This means we can now progressively allocate funding not on the basis of history, but to reflect population numbers and characteristics," Ms King said.
"This is a hugely significant step in completing the move this Government initiated to a population focus for our health system. We now have a way to match funding to board populations and their health needs," she said.
Ms Beyer said the Wairarapa District Health Board will receive $1,926,963 increased funding in the 2003/04 financial year, and a $1,134,557 increase on top of that in 2004/05.
But Ms Beyer said boards are still expected to live within their budgets. "Boards have been told of incentives to encourage financial responsibility, and disciplines will also be applied to ensure that budgets are not overspent," Ms Beyer said.
The Population Based Funding Formula "weights" funding for a board's population according to the likelihood of usage of services. The formula reflects age, gender, ethnicity and deprivation and boards also receive funds reflecting unmet need, rurality and special disadvantages caused by size or remoteness.
"This is the beginning of more equitable funding across New Zealand regions from Vote Health," Ms Beyer said.
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