Ministers announced the Government’s $604 million health budget to honour a National pre-election promise. Video / Mark Mitchell
Up to 26 new cancer treatments will be funded alongside 28 other medicines as part of the Government’s $604 million health budget to honour a National pre-election promise.
However, National’s commitment to fund 13 specific cancer drugs hasn’t been fully met with up to seven listed in its 2023 policy included in today’s funding package with the others replaced by “alternatives just as good or better”, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti said.
Reti, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Pharmac Minister David Seymour made the announcement today at the post-Cabinet press conference, which Reti estimated would benefit about 175,000 people in the first year.
Luxon said the quality of a person’s life was driven by the quality of their health.
“We are delivering on our promise to help Kiwis fighting cancer.
David Seymour, Dr Shane Reti and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon front media at today's post-Cabinet press conference in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Some of the drugs would be available from October/November this year while others would be phased in next year.
Reti clarified the exact number of medicines wasn’t yet confirmed, given Pharmac’s independent model.
Purchasing the drugs would cost $604m over the next four years - $108m this financial year, $146m in 2025/26 and $175m for each of the following two years. The money was a pre-commitment on next year’s Budget.
An additional $38m would also be spent delivering the treatments this year. Delivery costs for the following three years hadn’t been established.
Reti appears to have backed away from a commitment last week to fund the same 13 drugs National promised ahead of the 2023 election.
The seven cancer drugs in National’s policy that would be funded were:
Atezolizumab with bevacizumab for liver cancer
Axitinib for kidney cancer – second-line therapy
Cetuximab or panitumumab for bowel cancer – first-line therapy
Nivolumab for kidney cancer – second-line therapy
Osimertinib for lung cancer – first-line therapy
Osimertinib for lung cancer – second-line therapy
Pembrolizumab for bladder cancer
The 28 non-cancer-related drugs would address a range of conditions likely to include infections, respiratory conditions, osteoporosis, sexual health, dermatology, inflammatory conditions, and mental health.
Reti described the investment in treatments as “unprecedented”.
He said today’s announcement meant treatments for all the cancer types in the manifesto were covered.
Reti said he hoped within 12 months from November most of the medicines would be rolled out but that would be dependent on procurement.
He said he appreciated the announcement would not deliver for everyone.
Luxon said “we have been wrestling with how best to deliver this”.
David Seymour, Dr Shane Reti and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon front media at today's post-Cabinet press conference in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“We know there is a lot of work for us to do in respect to the fiscal [situation] in New Zealand.”
On where the funding was coming from, Luxon said it was additional.
Luxon said today was a “special day” and a “substantive, significant, over the top” investment.
“Yes we would have liked the timing to be a little bit sooner.”
Pharmac Minister David Seymour described today as a “wonderful day” for patients in New Zealand.
Seymour said the world was “awash” with new inventions for new drugs.
“The wealthiest country in the world will never afford what pharmaceutical companies can invent.”
Seymour said he got letters every day from people making choices between selling something to fund a drug - or having no options at all – and today’s announcement would be a “game changer” for those families.
The announcement was done in a way that respected the integrity of Pharmac, he said.
Seymour said receiving a large amount of money is short order would require Pharmac to be “on their game”.
The Cancer Society: “A momentous day”
The Cancer Society has welcomed the news - calling it a “momentous day” for New Zealand.
Chief executive Dr Rachael Hart said some cancer patients had been waiting, in some cases for years, for access cutting-edge cancer drugs in New Zealand and the announcement would provide “hope to many.”
However, she said reforms within Pharmac were needed – including creating a more “efficient and transparent” model and budget allocation for new life-saving medicines.
“Prior to this announcement, 140 medicines were on the ‘Options for Investment’ list, approved for use but unfunded, leaving patients without access to these critical treatments.
“We must ensure this list is not merely reduced temporarily but managed effectively going forward.”
Labour leader “relieved” with funding news
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was relieved Pharmac would receive more funding but that the Government had caused patients and their families “anguish” by making them wait.
“There are many people who deserve an apology from Christopher Luxon and are still waiting for one.
“He is yet to say sorry for the anguish he has caused people suffering from cancer up and down the country while they waited for the government to deliver on their promises.
“Christopher Luxon has finally realised he was wrong but he is unwilling to admit it.”
He also said Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis were treating the Budget process like an Afterpay scheme of “buy now pay later”.
“The funding for cancer medicines was supposed to come from scrapping universal free prescriptions in Budget 2024. Now it’s being borrowed from next year’s Budget instead.”
Pharmac responds to Govt’s cancer drug statement
Pharmac has welcomed today’s funding boost which will see about 175,000 more people receiving the medicines they need in the first year.
“The Government is allocating Pharmac an additional $604m over four years to fund or widen access to many more medicines, including cancer medicines,” Pharmac boss Sarah Fitt said.
“The work to deliver the additional medicines will start immediately.”
She said a lot of work happened behind the scenes so that as soon as funding became available, “we’re ready to go”.
”The next step for Pharmac involves working through the medicines on its Options for Investment (OFI) list to determine which medicines to progress. It will then begin negotiating with suppliers, and consulting publicly.
”We’re always looking for ways to stretch the Pharmac budget by making good commercial deals and freeing up savings that can be used elsewhere. This significant uplift will allow us to do even more and to make life-changing differences for many more New Zealanders.”
Update on embattled Cook Strait ferries
On the stricken Aratere ferry, Luxon said it was “concerning” and that the coalition Government was committed to new ships on the Cook Strait.
On the timing of the new ships, Luxon said he hoped they would come on before the end of life of the current ships on the strait.
Luxon said analysis suggested that end of life for the ships could be 2029.
Luxon said “rest assured – we are committed to getting new ferries on Cook Strait”.
On the Defence Force plane, Luxon said a defence capability review would be worked up and the plane was part of that.
Luxon said he would expect to have some options “shortly”.
On housing, Luxon said he would like to see more availability of social housing and had a big focus on emergency housing. He said he wanted to see “downward pressure” on the housing market.
On retail crime, he said Police Minister Mark Mitchell had visited the jewellery shop owner who was hit in the head by a hammer last night in an armed robbery in Papatoetoe.
Luxon said he knew the man and had visited his store. He planned to contact the man directly following the attack.
“We are going to do whatever it takes ... to fight back against crime.”
On the military-style academies being planned, Luxon said he was “not sorry” about taking a different approach to young serious offenders.
The Green Party also welcomed the move, describing it as a “step forward” but said more needed to be done to address the severe inequities within the health and cancer system.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news, however, there remains much to do in ensuring everyone has the care and support they need when facing cancer,” says the Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, who revealed last week she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Māori are 80 per cent more likely than non-Māori to die from cancer. Māori women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with, and die from, cervical cancer than Pākehā women,” Davidson said.
“When Māori women’s access to cervical cancer screening is well behind other groups, we must ensure any increases in resourcing for screening is rolled out equitably, and considers the needs of whānau Māori.”
“These sobering statistics remind us of the value a Māori Health Authority could have had in reducing some of these stark inequities.
Government faces strong criticism after new drugs absent from Budget
On Friday, the Herald reported it was understood Cabinet would decide today on a proposal to push a further $500-$600 million into Pharmac over the next four years in a bid to ensure Pharmac funds the cancer drugs that National promised.
It would mean National’s cancer drug promise ended up costing about double the $280m it had initially costed the policy at over a four-year period – and funding other medicines as well.
The Government has faced strong criticism after funding for the new drugs was absent in this year’s Budget, even though National’s policy proposed the first of four $70m tranches was to come in Budget 24.
Reti initially claimed nothing about the policy had changed since the revenue needed to fund the policy hadn’t yet been received. Last week, he admitted the Government’s poor communication and hadn’t appropriately developed the policy.
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has admitted the Government's communication concerning the policy was poor. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Last week, both Reti and Finance Minister Nicola Willis guaranteed the same 13 drugs outlined in National’s policy would be funded. However, Seymour wouldn’t give that guarantee, citing Pharmac’s independent model and the problems it posed to the drug-buying entity’s negotiations with drug companies.
It’s expected he will also give his reaction to Transpower confirming the collapse of a power pylon that led to widespread power cuts in Northland was caused by maintenance crews removing all of the nuts at the bottom of three of the pylon’s legs.
Transpower chief executive Alison Andrew said the removal of the nuts was “unprecedented and inconceivable”. Almost 100,000 people were left without power.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
