Labour would reinstate free prescriptions if elected at November's election, reversing a $5 charge the National-led Government brought back barely three years earlier, leader Chris Hipkins announced today.
The move would resurrect a short-lived universal scheme the previous Labour government introduced at Budget 2023, only for the coalition to scrap it the year after.
Hipkins said the policy – proposed to take effect from July 1, 2027 – would remove a barrier that means thousands of people go without the medicine they have been prescribed.
"People will be able to see their doctor for free with Labour’s new Medicard, then collect their prescription and pay nothing," he said.
"National promised to fix the cost of living. Instead. they have made it worse, including by bringing back prescription charges.
Hipkins claimed the policy would cost around $74 million annually.
He said: "The last thing anyone should have to worry about is whether they can afford their medicine. When people skip their prescriptions because of cost, their health problems can get worse – and that costs everyone more in the long run.
"By not having to pay the $5 charge, people are less likely to be sick, to live with pain or need to take time off from work for illness.
"Free prescriptions will also help to stop many medical conditions before they become serious and require specialist treatment or hospitalisation.
"Medicine isn't a luxury; it's basic healthcare, and basic healthcare should be there for everyone, like schools or the hospital. Making prescriptions free removes another barrier to families getting healthcare where and when they need it."
Labour cited a Medical Journal study that found those who could not afford their prescriptions were 35% more likely to end up in hospital.
Under the policy, patients only pay the $5 prescription fee once, at the first three‑month collection. (Source: 1News)
People aged 14 to 64 would save up to $100 a year, based on filling 20 prescriptions before becoming eligible, a Labour Party-supplied analysis claimed.
The policy would cover all funded medicines dispensed in community pharmacies at an estimated cost of $74.5 million a year, funded by a capital gains tax on profit made when a commercial or residential property – excluding the family home – was sold.
Prescriptions from non-approved prescribers might still incur a fee of up to $15
When National restored the co-payment in 2024, it kept prescriptions free for under-14s, over-65s and Community Services Card holders.
The pledge landed days after National finance spokesperson Nicola Willis released a costings document alleging an $18.2 billion gap between Labour's spending plans and the revenue it expected from its capital gains tax.
That document singled out a reversal of prescription charges as one of several policies National said would "further widen the gap", but did not put a figure on the policy itself.
At the time, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds dismissed the analysis as "about as desperate as it gets", saying Willis should be scrutinising her own books instead.
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