George Thomson: Pharmac expands funding for new treatments, including cancer drugs

Pharmac will fund new treatments for five health conditions, including several cancer drugs, from 1 March 2025, increasing access to vital medicines for patients across New Zealand.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour and Health Minister Simeon Brown welcomed the decision, saying it reflects the government’s commitment to expanding treatment options and improving patient outcomes.

Ele Ludemann: It’s a start

Pharmac has announced increased access to cancer drugs:

Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac.

Ele Ludemann: More should pay for prescriptions

The reinstatement of a $5 prescription charge will no doubt result in the media finding some sob stories.

It is a lot less likely there will be stories pointing out the major beneficiaries from the previous government’s removal of the fee were the big foreign-owned pharmacies that hadn’t been charging customers.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: I'm weirdly grateful for the Government's cancer drugs stuff-up

I think we can all see the Nats stuffed up the 13 cancer drugs announcement on so many levels.

They should never have promised specific drugs, that's Pharmac's job.

But having promised them for the first year, they shouldn't have then broken that promise by leaving them out of the Budget. 

And then, it's never really a good look if you finally get dragged to delivering on your promise because of public outrage.

John MacDonald: It should be Labour apologising to cancer patients

When I was off sick last week, I was crook enough to need to see a couple of doctors. And I’m very glad Chris Hipkins wasn’t one of them.

Because, if he had been and if he was true to the noises he’s been making about the Government’s big cancer drugs announcement yesterday, then he’d probably spend all his time apologising to me for taking too long to work out what was actually wrong with me.

Which I wouldn’t give two hoots about as long as I knew what it was that was making me crook and how I was going to get better.

Jordan Williams: We can't afford cancer drugs - but can afford this?

While cancer patients wait for the Government to "find the money" to fund desperately needed modern drugs, the very money meant for health research and saving lives is being flushed down the toilet.

At our weekly staff meeting this morning, the research team took me through the latest batch of grant funding decisions by the Health Research Council.

My heart sank.

But first, let's remind ourselves what the Health Research Council is.

Graham Adams: Government breaks second cancer drugs promise

Dr Reti’s pledge to blood-cancer patients is forgotten.

The government has spectacularly driven itself into a brick wall by its failure to fund the 13 cancer drugs Chris Luxon promised on the campaign trail last year, and there has been no shortage of commentators, from both the right and the left, probing its self-inflicted wounds in the wake of its baffling Budget omission.

Ele Ludemann: Finding more for cancer drugs

National campaigned on funding more cancer drugs but the government wasn’t able to do that in this Budget.

These drugs would make the difference in both quality and length of life for some, and could be the difference between life and death for others,

Funding was to come from reinstating the $5 prescription fee for everyone except people with Community Services cards and pensioners but that isn’t going to be enough.