Govt Proposes Shifting Ambulance Medicine Funding to Pharmac

The New Zealand Government has proposed transferring responsibility for funding ambulance medicines from Health New Zealand (HNZ) and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to Pharmac, a move aimed at improving medicine procurement, strengthening consistency in emergency care, and reducing costs across the health system.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour and Health Minister Simeon Brown announced that public consultation is now open on the proposal, which would introduce a nationally coordinated approach to funding medicines used by ambulance services.

Improving Consistency in Emergency Care

Under the current system, Health New Zealand and ACC fund ambulance services, while individual ambulance providers are responsible for purchasing the medicines they use to treat patients.

According to Seymour, this structure can lead to inconsistencies in the medicines available to ambulance crews and hospitals across different regions.

"Currently HNZ and ACC fund ambulance services, individual ambulance providers then purchase the medicines they need to treat their patients. This leads to some ambulance providers funding certain medicines which their local hospital does not, and vice versa," Seymour said.

The proposed change would allow Pharmac to manage procurement and funding, ensuring that ambulance services and hospitals have access to the same medicines nationwide.

"This proposal means no matter where a patient is located, their ambulance and hospital will have access to the same emergency medicines they need," Seymour added.

Nationally Consistent List of Ambulance Medicines

If implemented, the reform would create a single national list of medicines funded for emergency ambulance services.

This list would be incorporated into the Pharmaceutical Schedule, which Pharmac already manages for medicines funded across New Zealand's health system.

A consistent national schedule would provide clarity for ambulance providers about which medicines are funded and available, regardless of location.

"This helps ambulance providers, regardless of their location, to understand what is funded," Seymour said.

The government believes the change will improve continuity of care, allowing smoother transitions between ambulance crews and hospital teams during emergencies.

Leveraging Pharmac's Procurement Expertise

The proposal is also intended to improve medicine purchasing processes.

Seymour said Pharmac's experience in negotiating medicine prices and managing national procurement agreements could deliver significant efficiencies.

"When it comes to medicine procurement, Pharmac are the experts," he said.

Through centralized purchasing, Pharmac would be able to:

• Leverage larger national buying power

• Utilise existing supply agreements

• Reduce duplication of procurement processes

• Strengthen supply chain protections

These efficiencies are expected to generate savings across the health system.

"When you spend better you can afford more," Seymour said, noting that cost savings could allow Pharmac to fund additional emergency medicines that ambulance services may not previously have been able to afford.

Supporting Equal Access to Emergency Treatment

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the reform aims to ensure patients receive consistent treatment regardless of where they live.

"This change will help ensure patients transferred by ambulance to public hospitals have access to the same medicines, supporting better continuity of care between ambulance crews and hospital teams," Brown said.

He added that centralising funding through Pharmac should also simplify administrative processes for ambulance providers, allowing them to focus more on patient care rather than procurement tasks.

"Funding ambulance medicines through Pharmac, alongside the medicines it already manages for the health system, should also save time and resources for providers, making it easier for them to focus on frontline care," he said.

Public Consultation Now Open

The government has opened a public consultation process to gather feedback on the proposed changes.

Key dates include:

• Consultation opens: Thursday, 12 March 2026

• Consultation closes: 5:00 PM, Thursday, 2 April 2026

If approved, the changes would be implemented from 1 July 2026.

Members of the public and stakeholders can submit feedback through the official consultation page titled "Updating the Pharmaceutical Schedule for ambulance medicines."