It will be up the people of Otago and Southland to decide if they want one health board covering both regions, says Health Minister Tony Ryall.
The Government was "not requiring" the two boards to merge, Mr Ryall said in a brief written statement yesterday.
"This is an opportunity for the people of Otago and Southland to consider whether one district health board might better serve their health needs."
The Otago and Southland boards were "probably working closer than any other district health boards in the country".
"People will be looking at how much further administrative overhead can be saved that could go into maintaining and improving services for the region."
On Friday, the boards announced public consultation about a possible merger of the two would begin next month.
Otago chairman Errol Millar said he had received only positive comments about the news over the weekend.
The detail of how the consultation process would proceed was not clear.
Both boards made the decision to go ahead with consultation after discussing the matter in secret at their respective October meetings.
The matter arose during discussion of their financial recovery plan.
Both boards are expected to be able to break even at the end of the next three years and in their proposals had factored in savings from a merger.
Mr Millar said there would be much to discuss about a merger, including fairly representing each province.
A ward system might be required as a transitional measure.
It would be important in a merger to have people on the board with a broad view who would not focus on single issues or parts of the regions, he said.
