NZ Medicine Spend Must Rise 60% to Match OECD Average

A new report commissioned by Business NZ has found that every additional dollar spent on medicines generates almost $2 in economic return.

The report, conducted by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL), suggests that New Zealand's current spend of 4.9% of the health budget on medicines is 'way behind' comparable countries.

The OECD average is 13.3%, while Australia spends 12.2% of its health expenditure on medicine, according to Business NZ chief executive Katherine Rich.

The report estimates that an additional $2.7 billion annual spend on medicine is needed to reach the OECD benchmark and 'capture the economic and fiscal gains'.