Election 2026: Act to spend $400m to retain more doctors, incentivise more appts

Act is promising to commit $400 million over four years to retain more doctors in New Zealand, attract them from overseas and incentivise offering more appointments. In statement, the party took aim at Labour’s central policy of offering three free GP visits, funded by its capital gains tax, saying it didn’t address workforce capacity. “Labour’s policy to hand out three taxpayer-funded GP visits each year for the worried well will only make things worse,” Act leader David Seymour said. “There’s no point promising more free appointments if there aren’t enough doctors to provide them.“Rather than subsidising demand, Act will increase the supply of appointments by keeping the doctors we’ve got, helping them see more patients, and attracting more from overseas.”More to come...