Published online:
30 June 2022
This report shows information on funding to Māori health providers by the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) and District Health Boards (DHBs) for the period 2016/17 to 2020/21. This report follows on from our reports in 2017 and 2021 on the same topic and is part of our monitoring of Whakamaua: Māori Health Action Plan 2020-2025.
Highlights include:
- funding to Māori health providers by the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards was $365.7 million in 2020/21, an increase of $79.6 million (or 27.8%) since 2016/17 (see Table 1)
- although funding to Māori health providers is increasing, it remains a small part of Vote Health, remaining near 1.90 percent between 2016/17 and 2020/21
- the Ministry has begun measuring Other types of funding not included in the figures above: funding to the Māori Provider Development Scheme, Māori primary health organisations, Māori general practices, for Hauora Māori Scholarships, and payments for the delivery of COVID-19 services. These payments increased by $120.1 million between 2016/17 and 2020/21, or 76.4 percent. This is higher than the increase in Vote Health during the same time (27.9 percent)
- Measuring Other types of funding is subject to large fluctuations particularly funding to Māori PHOs. The fluctuations are due to new PHOs being created, closures and amalgamation of PHOs; and general practices moving between PHOs. Because of this, Table 1 may be a more consistent way to measure changes in funding to Māori health providers.