End of Life Choice Act implementation Cabinet papers and minutes

In reference to the Cabinet paper Implementing the End of Life Choice Act and providing for assisted dying services (considered on 28 June 2021), which considers how assisted dying might be delivered in the New Zealand Health System, it was agreed by Cabinet that:

• the Government will take steps to ensure that assisted dying services are available to eligible people from 7 November 2021, in line with other health services
• the Government will take a national approach to funding and providing for assisted dying services, which will involve:
  • allowing any suitable individual practitioner who is willing, to receive funding for providing assisted dying services, on a fee-for-service basis
  • ensuring that willing practitioners employed by DHBs are supported to provide assisted dying services.
• there will be an addition to the DHB service coverage schedule to the Crown Funding Agreement to identify assisted dying as part of the range of publicly funded health services, and DHBs will provide assisted dying services using existing baseline funding
• the Ministers of Finance and Health will approve final funding settings for the provision of assisted dying once work has been done on funding levels for practitioners and other costs.

In reference to the Cabinet paper Medicines (Assisted Dying Medications) Amendment Regulations 2021 (considered on 9 September 2021), this received approval to amend the Medicines Regulations 1984 to clarify that medications prescribed for an assisted dying service are ‘medicines’ for the purposes of the Medicines Act 1981.

Find more information on the Assisted Dying Service.