That money could allow National to keep its pre-election promise to fund life-saving cancer treatments, while also giving Pharmac more money for other drugs.
Willis told Hosking no announcement would be made today.
But she did not deny, when asked, that an announcement about drug funding would be made next week following Cabinet sign-off on Monday.
“We’ve been working very hard on this policy and we’re going to make an announcement very shortly,” she told Hosking.
She did not specify whether the $600m figure was accurate.
It is understood the Government considered a range of options for delivering on the promise – including directing Pharmac to fund the drugs, going outside the Pharmac model by effectively setting up a separate cancer drug funding agency, or giving Pharmac a big enough funding injection to enable it to fund enough of the medicines on its priority list to include the cancer drugs.
It appears to have settled on the latter because of concerns about the appropriateness of breaching Pharmac’s independence by directing it or by setting up a separate drug buying body.
However, it does not guarantee the specific drugs National listed will all end up being funded and there is some scepticism about that list given cancer experts have said some of those drugs have been superseded by better options.
Willis’ comments come after the Government had been accused of breaking an election promise to fund 13 cancer-specific medicines, after this year’s Budget did not include funding for the policy.
Health Minister Shane Reti has promised the drugs will still be funded and delivered this year.
That apparently put Reti at odds with Pharmac Minister David Seymour who this week said he could not guarantee funding for the specific 13 drugs listed in the National Party’s election policy, partly because that would threaten Pharmac’s negotiating ability.
The additional funding would be spread over four years and would give the drug-buying agency the ability to buy the 13 cancer medicines while also funding other medications on its priority list, maintaining its independence.
Health advocacy group Patient Voice Aotearoa described the pending policy as “excellent news, not only for terminally-ill cancer patients, but for many of the 330,000 New Zealanders who are waiting for one or more of the 90 medicines on Pharmac’s Options for Investment List”.
“Today’s news will put a significant dent in Pharmac’s waiting list of medicines that they want to fund,” chair Malcolm Mulholland said.
“This is worth celebrating. I hope that today’s news signals the end of New Zealand being the only country in the world with a waiting list of medicines.
“Having patients wait for years for a medicine not only leads to poorer health outcomes but is inhumane. It should be to our eternal shame that successive Governments underfunded Pharmac for over two decades which resulted in an ever-growing waiting list of medicines, and consequently, lives either being cut short or living in pain and misery.”
The policy, campaigned on by National ahead of the 2023 election, promised to fund 13 cancer treatments which were unavailable in New Zealand.
The list of drugs had been identified in a 2022 Cancer Control Agency report. Some experts and advocates, including those in that report, have questioned whether other or more modern drugs would be more effective.
The Budget this year didn’t include funding for the policy, prompting widespread criticism and forcing the Government to come up with a solution to honour the commitment. No timeline has been offered regarding an announcement on the future of the policy, except that it would be implemented by the end of the year.
Reti, a National MP, earlier this week admitted the Government had poorly communicated the policy’s future but he stood by his party’s policy, guaranteeing the same 13 drugs would be funded.
“We had made a commitment to these people and they saw themselves in this policy and so we’re going to deliver that policy.”
