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Download AudioPatient Voice Aotearoa is disappointed funding for the 13 new cancer drugs promised during National’s election campaign wasn’t included in the Budget.
Drug buying agency Pharmac received $1.7 billion to provide ongoing access to currently available medicines, but the Government is now scrambling to find some other way to fund the new drugs.
Patient Voice Aotearoa spokesperson Malcolm Mullholland says patients want transparency about the drugs that can extend their lives.
“One of the things that cancer patients always say to me is, ‘I just want to know if the drug will be funded or not and if so, when?’ Because then they can plan, then they can say to themselves ‘well, for at least a couple of months there I may have to look to get some funds together but at least I know that drug will be funded in September or August or whenever the case may be,'” he says.
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