Kids with cancer might soon not be able to access new drugs 3 May 2021
Pharmac is considering scrapping a rule in which it funds any medicine the doctor asks for, for children with cancer.
The change is being considered in light of the claim it discriminates against children with other diseases.
Pharmac says it hasn t made any decisions yet but has confirmed it s looking at the mechanism around the funding for new medicines.
Patient Voice Aotearoa spokesperson Fiona Tolich says Pharmac s picking who lives and who dies.
She says she feels likes she s in some kind of sick movie because it s hard to believe in New Zealand we would go to these lengths just to stop a case of discrimination.
Pharmac drug-buying wish list needs extra $400m; calls for review to include funding
29 Apr, 2021 09:42 PM
4 minutes to read
Health Minister Andrew Little and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing an independent review into Pharmac in March. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Health Minister Andrew Little and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing an independent review into Pharmac in March. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Social issues reporter, NZ Heraldmichael.neilson@nzherald.co.nz
Pharmac s wish list has revealed a shortfall of more than $400 million, sparking calls for a funding review of the government drug-buying agency.
Pharmac s Options for Investment list, released under the Official Information Act, shows there are 73 medicines the agency has determined should be funded but for which there is not the budget.
Revealed: Pharmac s budget hole hundreds of millions of dollars deep Newshub 5 hrs ago
Newshub can reveal Pharmac has a budget hole hundreds of millions of dollars deep.
For the first time, the Government s drug-buying agency has released figures about its options for investment list - medicines Pharmac would pay for if it had the budget.
There are currently 73 medicines on the list. The cost of funding every drug on the wish list is more than $400 million a year - $417,670,000.
Kiwis like Andrew Speir rely on the goodness of strangers to get necessary medicine. The 36-year-old has stage four bowel cancer and doctors recommended he use Avastin, a drug not funded for bowel cancer in New Zealand.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Māori in fight of our lives against cancer nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.