May 23, 2023
Health prevention putea could save future spend
Health Coalition Aotearoa hopes the Government will think more about health prevention rather than just health care in the next Budget.
Coalition co-chair Lisa Te Morenga says she’s pleased at the amount earmarked for Maori in the Budget, despite global economic conditions and the cost of cleaning up after extreme weather events.
But more on public awareness like road safety campaigns can bring massive savings for health.
“A lot of the conditions that cost a lot of money, like diabetes, a lot of heart disease, even some cancers, have root causes that are preventable. If we could reduce smoking, reduce excess alcohol consumption, improve the quality of food and diets that people eat – we could reduce the number of people going on to develop those diseases – which would have a major cost saving in the future,” Dr Te Morenga says.
She says extending the healthy lunches in schools program, removing prescription fees and increased funding for screening and immunisation programmes are all positives.