National had campaigned on, and has delivered, a big increase in elective surgery, shorter waits for radiation therapy patients, fewer managers and administrators in the state health system and more doctors and nurses - although the latter is contested by the Nurses Organisation.
No-one argues against the benefits of increasing elective surgery, but Labour says National's prescription is skewed towards a "narrow" agenda, with a loss of focus on prevention.
"National has taken $124 million out of public health in this Budget period," says Labour health spokesman Grant Robertson.
"That involves the destruction of the Healthy Eating-Healthy Action programme ... and a whole host of smaller initiatives. I think it is the wrong way to go. Prevention must be a priority."
He says National's focus on elective surgery has been disproportionate.
"Proportionately we want to see more money go into those other areas [prevention and children's health], so whether that requires a reduction [for elective surgery] we will have to work out when we get closer."
Mr Ryall has gone on the attack over preventive health.
His office says Government spending on public health, including nutrition and smoking cessation, has gone up from $352.3 million in 2007/8, to $486.5 million in this year's Budget. No public health programmes have been stopped, although some have been reduced.
New ones include rheumatic fever, the bowel screening pilot and additional Well Child visits, child immunisation is up, and the tobacco tax is being hiked by more than 30 per cent, though it is the Mana and Maori parties that have forced tobacco control up the policy agenda.
Mr Ryall says Labour in government listed rheumatic fever as a health priority but did nothing more about it.
"Labour does a lot of talking about preventive health but has a very poor record."
Labour's main health commitments are to end National's "underfunding" of health - although Mr Robertson won't say how much Labour would spend - minimum prices for alcohol, free primary health care 24/7 for children under six at a cost of $10 million annually, and free primary dental care for pregnant women by 2014, extending this to other groups in the adult population "as resources allow".
The Green Party is broadly in agreement with Labour on health.
"Labour's changes bring their policy into very close alignment with ours, and I'm sure that health is an area in which we could work closely together," said Greens health spokesman Kevin Hague.
National has been drip-feeding new policies during the election campaign. Their main pledges are to continue the expansion of elective surgery with an extra $12 million a year, reducing the maximum waiting time to four months by 2014, and free after-hours primary care for under-sixes at a cost of $7 million a year to be funded by health sector savings.
Highlights
National
Maximum wait for elective surgery to be reduced from six months to four by 2014.
Labour
Free primary healthcare 24/7 for children under 6. Free dental care for pregnant women by 2014.
Greens
Ban direct-to-consumer advertising of medicines. Develop a plan to encourage healthy eating by children.
Act
Reduce taxes so people can buy healthcare and insurance.
Maori Party
Introduce plainpackaging for tobacco. Remove taxes from prescription medicines.
Mana
Tobacco to be sold only in pharmacies and eventually banned from sale.
United Future
Increase funding for sexual health/contraceptive programmes.
