Pharmac Proposal Risks Cutting Access to Medicines

Ingrid Ovenstone, Patient Support Officer with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Advocates NZ, warns that Pharmac’s plan to remove medicines from its Options for Investment list after two years hides chronic underfunding.

These medicines have already been proven effective and cost‑efficient, but New Zealand’s low spend on medicines – just 4.9% of the health budget compared with an OECD average of 13.3%, leaves patients waiting years for treatments that are standard overseas.

For people with conditions like chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, this means relying on outdated chemotherapies while modern oral and targeted therapies remain unfunded.

Read the article here: Pharmac Proposal Risks Cutting Access to Medicines