Health NZ silences cardiologists on diabetes medication change w/ ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton: 15th June, 2026

Pharmac has recently proposed changing who can receive funded treatment for key diabetes medication, moving it in line with a cabinet directive from 2024 saying public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race.

There has been an outcry from health professionals, such as the cardiac network, saying data shows that Maori and Pacific people are more at risk of diabetes, regardless of their socio-economic status, and the best way to maximise health benefit for dollars spent is by targeting these groups.

Further criticism has been directed at Health NZ, which has banned the cardio network from objecting to the removal of eligibility criteria, saying it would breach the 2024 cabinet directive. Cardiologists will be forced to make submissions as individuals, a move the network has said is silencing scientific evidence in the name of politics 

To discuss the eligibility changes and Health NZ silencing cardiologists, host Thomas spoke to Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton.