11. Question No. 11—HealthHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 11—Health11. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with Dunedin North MP David Clark who said in 2017 District Health Boards this year needed at least $650 million to stand still but they are over $200 million short of what they need"; if not why not?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Talofa lava. Because the previous Government systematically underfunded health and left behind it a legacy of overstretched services struggling to cope with a growing and ageing population; of underpaid and undervalued doctors nurses and allied health workers; and of ageing hospital infrastructure including leaky buildings and facilities that are no longer fit for purpose the answer is yes. This Government has begun the long process of rebuilding our health services but we have always said it will take more than one Budget.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Was he therefore disappointed that the $744 million he succeeded in securing for district health board (DHB) cost pressures in Budget 2019 comprises just $94 million more than Dr Clark said was needed two years ago?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The member will have to wait till Budget day for the real picture.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he accept that with DHBs heading for combined deficits of $500 million or more the Budget 2019 appropriation of $744 million for DHB cost pressures will fail to keep most DHBs out of deficit next year?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The current combined forecast deficit of the DHBs is $372 million and is a direct legacy of years of under-investment in health by the previous Government. I can't give the member any forecasts for the year ahead because of course annual planning processes are still in train but it's my clear expectation that DHBs demonstrate that they have a plan to return to financial stability while at the same time continuing to deliver the services that New Zealanders expect and deserve.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Is it expected that the $744 million for DHBs will cover the coalition agreement's commitments on a free annual health check for seniors given that the Budget 2019 information does not have that as a separate initiative?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The member will have to wait for Budget day for the real picture but what I can tell him is that since we took office there are 1300 more nurses in this country working in our DHB system. We have reduced the cost of visiting the doctor for community services cardholders by an average of $20 to $30 for 540000 people. We have rolled out nurses in schools to decile—SPEAKER: Order!Hon Michael Woodhouse: Has he heard today from New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) economist Bill Rosenberg who called for our operating expenditure to increase by nearly double the $744 million expressing his disappointment?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I have not looked in detail at the CTU's most recent analysis. However I do know that it has consistently shown that health has been underfunded over the last decade. This Government is committed to better resourcing sustainably funded health services but as I have said many times it will take time to make up for nine long years of neglect."