- No sign yet
Details and sources
- Promised
- FAST launched its 2025 manifesto at the Apita o Pisaga Hall, Salelologa, Savaiʻi, on Saturday 12 July 2025 7. In July 2025 the Samoa Observer and RNZ reported a general pledge of free hospital services, without naming groups 89. Polling day was 29 August 2025 10. On 28 August 2025, the day before, the Samoa Observer reported that the manifesto proposes free medical visits and medication for pregnant women, children, older people and people with disabilities 11. The health summary in the same Samoa Observer article names a narrower group: schoolchildren, pensioners and people with disabilities 12. We could not find the manifesto text, so the exact wording is unconfirmed. None of the reports we read gives a cost or a start date for this promise.
- What happened
- Before the election, most of these groups were already meant to get free care. A Ministry of Health report for 2019/20 lists children under 12, antenatal mothers, people aged 65 and over, and people with chronic conditions and disabilities as getting free care 2. The National Provident Fund says pensioners aged 65 and over get free consultations at government hospitals and free medical supplies at government pharmacies 13. Government sources give different age limits. For children they say under 12, 12 and under, or under 15 214. For older people they say 60 and over, or 65 and over 12. We found no new law, fee notice or budget line from Laʻauli's government that widens free visits or medicines. The government's first Budget Address, on 6 October 2025, calls health care subsidised, not free 3. In a letter published in the Samoa Observer on 12 November 2025, the health minister said an emergency medical fund had been set up to restock life-saving drugs 14. The minister's letter also said Cabinet had approved medicine supply reforms in 2024, before this government took office 15. One of those reforms is a policy to keep at least three months of essential medicines in reserve 16. In the 2026/27 Budget Address on 26 May 2026, the finance minister said funding for medical consumables rose from SAT$14 million to SAT$21.5 million 17. Part of that money is for unpaid supplier bills 18. On 24 September 2026, two-year contracts for selected medicines for 2026–2028 were approved 19. On 30 September 2026 Talamua reported that Cabinet had approved contracts with six companies 20. Talamua also reported that Cabinet had approved the privatisation of procurement of medical supplies 21. We found no details of what this changes. The 12 published awards add up to SAT$5.09 million over two years; that total is our calculation, not a government figure 22. A Ministry of Health tender to buy urgent medicines and injections from local private pharmacies closes on 9 November 2026 23.
- Impact on families
- On 21 May 2026 the Samoa Observer reported that patients struggled to get metformin, amlodipine and children's paracetamol syrup 24. The Samoa Observer said families were spending extra money at private pharmacies 5. On 9 June 2026 RNZ reported that the national hospital was rationing critical medicine 25. RNZ said an urgent air shipment from Fiji-based Pacific Specialist Healthcare covered only about half of what was needed, and that the rest of the company's supplies were expected in the following weeks 2649. On 20 July 2026 the Samoa Observer reported the health minister as saying the Government of Fiji had airlifted some medicines 27. We could not confirm whether the two reports describe the same shipment. On 24 July 2026 ABC Pacific quoted the health minister: 104 medicines had run short in the government's first nine months, and nine were still short 6. A father of six told ABC Pacific that prescriptions that cost SAT$5 at the hospital pharmacy now cost more than SAT$200 at private pharmacies 28. A Samoa Observer editorial of 10 November 2025 said people in rural areas pay more for medicine they could once get free 29. In 2021 the disability group Nuanua o le Alofa found that fewer than 5% of people it surveyed knew of and could use free care in public health services 30. On 13 March 2026 a UN disability rights committee raised concern about reported lack of access to health services 31. We found no published count of people newly getting free visits or medicines. The Samoa Observer's one-year review of 15 September 2026 says the government delivered some social welfare commitments 32. The rest of that review is behind a paywall, so we do not know whether it covers this promise.
- Cost
- We found no cost for this promise in reports on the manifesto. On 13 July 2025 a Samoa Observer editorial said FAST had not explained how it would pay for its plans 33. On 28 August 2025 the Samoa Observer said health spending was already near SAT$160 million, and that the health plans of FAST and HRPP could double it 34. No 2025/26 or 2026/27 budget line is set aside for this promise 34. The nearest line is the Ministry of Health's output for medicines, medical equipment and supplies, which serves all patients 35. Its running costs rise from SAT$14.67 million in 2025/26 to SAT$23.74 million in 2026/27 36. That is about 13% of the Ministry of Health's SAT$183.4 million for 2026/27; the share is our calculation 3637. On 20 July 2026 the Samoa Observer, citing the government's Savali newspaper, reported the health minister as saying the 2026/27 health budget is not enough for future medicine orders 38. The 2026/27 Estimates still expect SAT$1.5 million a year in revenue from pharmaceutical services 39. The Estimates do not say who pays it. The extra cost of free medicines for the four groups has not been published.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
The free care these groups are entitled to was set before 16 September 2025, so that part is inherited 213. A government Press Secretariat statement published by Talamua on 28 August 2026 sums up the manifesto's welfare policies; it lists newborn and pension benefits but not free visits or medicines 40. Laʻauli's government added the larger 2026/27 medicines line and new supplier contracts 1719. Some supply work came earlier: a medicines contract for 2024–2026 was approved on 26 April 2025, and the minister's letter says Cabinet approved supply reforms in 2024 4115. Shortages also began before this government: on 17 February 2025, 14 tablets and capsules were completely out of stock, the Samoa Observer reported 42. In his November 2025 letter, the minister wrote that global shortages in 2025 affected several essential medicines 43. On 24 July 2026 ABC Pacific reported the health minister as saying the shortages were the result of the previous government's failure to settle debts with overseas suppliers 44. This is the minister's account. In his November 2025 letter he wrote that Cabinet had asked for an independent audit of the health supply chain; we found no published result 51. Sources disagree on whether the debts are paid: ABC reported that around half had been settled, while on 20 July 2026 the Samoa Observer, citing the government's Savali newspaper, reported the minister as saying payments for orders placed from 2020 to 2025 had been settled 4546. We could not confirm which is right. On 9 June 2026 RNZ, citing local media, reported a SAT$12 million backlog in unpaid supplier bills; it did not say when those bills arose 50. Emergency shipments from Fiji filled part of the gap 2627. We found no reply on the record from ministers of the previous government.
- Who gains
- If delivered, the four groups gain, most of all low-income and rural families now paying private prices: one father told ABC Pacific his SAT$5 hospital prescriptions cost more than SAT$200 at private pharmacies 2829.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers would pay through the medicines line, which also carries old supplier bills, and while hospital shelves are empty, patients pay at private pharmacies instead 185.
- Assessment
- Judged by who gains, the promise lands well: it aims free care at older people, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities 11. Most of it already existed on paper, so the real test is whether medicines are on the shelf 2. In 2026 they often were not 256. Delivery is a stretch. In July 2026 the Samoa Observer, citing Savali, reported the health minister as saying the health budget is not enough for future medicine orders, and no money is set aside for these groups 384. Over the long term the outcome is mixed. Free care helps these families only if supply is fixed and paid for. The Samoa Observer reported the minister pointing to delays with suppliers and shipping, and to payments held up while the Government Tenders Board reviews each large order 4748.
Sources (51)
- Samoa Health Workforce Development Plan, Financial Years 2020/21–2025/26
- Ministry of Health Annual Report Financial Year 2019/20
- Budget Address 2025/2026
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Tuilaepa urges health boss to pay $12M debt
- Samoa health system grapples with medicine supply
- FAST Party Manifesto Centres on the Family Unit
- FAST manifesto: Free hospital, money for poor and launch of stock exchange
- Samoa election: Political parties make big promises on health, welfare and economy
- Samoa election: Political parties make big promises on health, welfare and economy
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- SCBF | npfws
- Samoa government response: Strengthening Samoa’s health system beyond short-term supply challenges
- Samoa government response: Strengthening Samoa’s health system beyond short-term supply challenges
- Samoa government response: Strengthening Samoa’s health system beyond short-term supply challenges
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Tender Awards | MOF Samoa
- Cabinet holds circulation of $100 Tala Commemorative Note
- Cabinet holds circulation of $100 Tala Commemorative Note
- Tender Awards | MOF Samoa
- Tender Adverisements
- Tuilaepa urges health boss to pay $12M debt
- Samoa's main hospital rationing medicine amid critical shortage
- Samoa's main hospital rationing medicine amid critical shortage
- Health Minister: Budget not enough for future medicine orders
- Samoa health system grapples with medicine supply
- Building hospitals when the medicine cabinet is empty
- Samoa: Nuanua o le Alofa (NOLA) statement, Universal Periodic Review
- Experts of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Commend Samoa’s Disability Rights Policy Framework, Ask About Accessibility Issues and the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Disaster Governance
- FAST Government one year on: What has been delivered and what remains
- More promises, FAST and its manifesto
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Health Minister: Budget not enough for future medicine orders
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- POLITICAL OPINION: When Truth Becomes the Casualty of Political Power
- Tender Awards | MOF Samoa
- Building hospitals when the medicine cabinet is empty
- Samoa government response: Strengthening Samoa’s health system beyond short-term supply challenges
- Samoa health system grapples with medicine supply
- Samoa health system grapples with medicine supply
- Health Minister: Budget not enough for future medicine orders
- Health Minister: Budget not enough for future medicine orders
- Health Minister: Budget not enough for future medicine orders
- Samoa's main hospital rationing medicine amid critical shortage
- Samoa's main hospital rationing medicine amid critical shortage
- Samoa government response: Strengthening Samoa’s health system beyond short-term supply challenges
Is it funded?
No budget line
We searched the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Approved Estimates and Budget Addresses and found no line for free visits or medicines for these groups under any name 12. The only mention is a 2026/27 performance target for free radiology tests for a group that includes children under 15, disability patients and maternal patients, with no money attached 3. The nearest line is the Ministry of Health's output for medicines, medical equipment and supplies, which serves all patients 4. Its running costs were budgeted at SAT$11.26 million in 2024/25 and SAT$14.67 million in 2025/26 5. They rise to SAT$23.74 million in 2026/27 6. The 2026/27 Budget Address gives a different figure: SAT$21.5 million for medical consumables, up from SAT$14 million 2. Part of that money is for unpaid supplier bills 7. We could not confirm whether the Budget Address and the Estimates count the same items. By 31 March 2026 the Ministry of Health had spent SAT$114.9 million of its SAT$170.7 million for 2025/26; no breakdown for medicines is published 8.
Sources (8)
- Budget Address 2025/2026
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2025-26
- Estimates for the Financial Year 2026-27
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Statement of Cash Flows for the 9 months ended 31st March 2026
What research says
Research is mixed
In the Pacific, Fiji began a Free Medicine Programme in 2015 with a budget of eight million Fiji dollars and 72 medicines 1. In March 2025 a Fiji Parliament committee listed anomalies in the programme as a recurring issue 2. The committee asked for a thorough review of whether the scheme is fit for purpose 3. In Samoa, a 2013 World Bank study found out-of-pocket health spending relatively low, and very large health bills negligible 4. The World Bank study also found that money recovered from patients was just 0.08% of government health spending in 2011/12 5. A study in Samoa published in July 2021 found that the supply of blood-pressure drugs was a major barrier to treatment 6. Taken together, these studies suggest visit fees were a small cost for Samoan families, and that reliable medicine stock matters more 46.
Sources (6)
- Free Medicine Program Press Statement by the Minister for Health and Medical Services
- Review of the Audit Report on Follow-up of High Risks Ministries/Departments (Parliamentary Paper No. 38 of 2025)
- Review of the Audit Report on Follow-up of High Risks Ministries/Departments (Parliamentary Paper No. 38 of 2025)
- Health-Financing Options for Samoa: Challenges and Opportunities
- Health-Financing Options for Samoa: Challenges and Opportunities
- Improving Services for Chronic Non-communicable Diseases in Samoa: An Implementation Research Study Using the Care Cascade Framework
Cost and reach
Neither the cost nor the reach of this promise can be worked out from published figures. The only counts we found are for cash benefits. The 26 May 2026 Budget Address says the pension and disability benefit reached 13,000 pensioners and 2,875 people with disabilities 1. The Ministry of Health collected SAT$5.74 million in fees and charges in 2023/24, from all patients, not only these groups 2. We found no count of children or pregnant women using free care, and no cost for free medicines for the four groups.
Sources (2)
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Ministry of Health Annual Report FY2023/2024
Helps: Older people · People with disabilities · Children · Women
Paid for by: Taxpayers · Low-income families · Rural villages and Savaiʻi
Folafolaga · https://folafolaga.pages.dev/promises/fast-health-free-visits-medicines/ · Printed from the version last checked 23 October 2026. Every claim's source is listed on that page.