NZ to Boost Pharmaceutical Funding by NZ$160 Million
The New Zealand government is going to give pharmaceutical funding a NZ$160 million (FJ$221.26m) boost over the next four years.
Health Minister David Clark made the announcement ahead of this year’s Budget on Thursday.
The Combined Pharmaceutical Budget is managed by Pharmac and covers DHB purchasing of medicines, vaccines, medical devices and other treatments. An extra NZ$10 million (FJ$13.83m) will be allocated in 2020/21, and the remaining NZ$150 million (FJ$207.43m) will be spent over the following three years. Mr Clark said this year’s budget will ensure New Zealanders continue to get the medicines they need, despite global pressure on supply chains.
“Of course these are not normal times, Budget 2020 will have a significant focus on economic recovery and rebuilding to support jobs.
“But at the same time it is vital that we prioritise additional investment in critical services like Pharmac,” he said.
He said the extra money will secure medicine supply, while at the same time allowing scope for Pharmac to continue to work on expanding the range of funded treatments where possible.
“Since Budget 2019, 13 new medicines have been approved by Pharmac to become publicly funded, including six new cancer treatments. In fact, in the past two years, more than 200,000 New Zealanders have benefitted from 65 additional or widened access subsidised medicines.
“Budget 2020 locks in those gains,” he said.