District Health Board Deficit Decreases

District Health Board Deficit Decreases

The combined deficit of New Zealand's 21 district health boards (DHBs) was $58.2 million for the June 2004 year, according to Statistics New Zealand. This was a $111.4 million decrease on the $169.6 million deficit recorded in the June 2003 year, and is $229.0 million lower than the June 2002 year deficit.

Total DHB revenue for the June 2004 year rose to $7,503.9 million, with funding from the Ministry of Health increasing by $875.9 million (up 16.6 percent) to $6,153.2 million, compared with the June 2003 year.

Total DHB expenses were $7,562.1 million in the June 2004 year. The two major components of this expenditure are the direct provision of public hospital and health services (HHS), at $4,514.0 million, and the purchase of medical services from non-government providers and inter-DHB services, at $2,951.3 million. The total expenses of the HHS providers were 5.1 percent higher than in the June 2003 year, with employee costs, the key expense item, up 5.3 percent to $2,774.6 million.

For the year ended June 2004, DHBs spent $387.2 million on additions to fixed assets, down 11.9 percent on the previous 12 months.

In the June 2004 quarter, total DHB revenue increased by $104.3 million to $1,996.4 million, while expenses increased by $91.3 million to $1,996.8 million. This resulted in the combined deficit for the DHBs reducing to $0.5 million. Total DHB investment in fixed assets was $111.5 million in the June 2004 quarter, up on the $59.9 million spent in the March 2004 quarter.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician ƒn

© Scoop Media