June 05, 2019
No Budget relief for Pharmac critics
Malcolm Mulholland from Patient Action Aotearoa says that's because the funding for government drug buying agency Pharmac failed to keep up with inflation, meaning its ability to buy drugs and medical equipment is going backwards.
Mr Mulholland and his wife Wiki, who has advanced breast cancer, are part of a group fighting for Pharmac to fund a class of new drugs which could extend their lives.
He says there are thousands of people around the country with a range of conditions who are in a similar situation.
"Basically we've got 120 drugs on the waiting list which have been marked either high, mediumor low priority. Why is there a waiting list with 120 drugs? Basically because they don't have the budget to afford it," Mr Mulholland says.
He says Pharmac isn't going to fix its own problems, and there needs to be some political leadership and a funding increase to give New Zealanders the access to the treatments they should expect.