Pharmac has just released its Options for Investment (OFI) list, which includes 36 new medicines since it was updated in July 2021. The OFI includes all medicines that Pharmac would fund if its budget allowed.

“We have known for years that there is a medicine crisis in New Zealand” says Patient Voice Aotearoa Chair, Malcolm Mulholland. “The addition of a whopping 36 medicines to Pharmac’s painfully long medicines waitlist in less than a year shows that the crisis has significantly worsened.”

The updated OFI includes 128 applications that cover 78 medicines and vaccines. The oldest funding application is for the EpiPen, which was first applied for twenty-five years ago. The average waiting time for medicines on Pharmac’s list is five years.

Patient Voice Aotearoa has repeatedly called for a doubling of Pharmac’s budget and in April last year, Pharmac estimated the cost to clear the waiting list at approximately $400 million per annum. The Government committed just $50m extra per year in budget 2021 to Pharmac funding.

“Repeated claims by the Government that it has increased Pharmac’s budget by 25% are misleading” says Mulholland. “In 2018/2019 Pharmac was charged with responsibility for purchasing hospital medicines and $130 million that previously sat with DHBs was transferred to Pharmac to fund existing hospital medicines. That is not new investment. It is simply a transfer of budget that has no impact on Pharmac’s ability to fund its medicines waiting list.”

“As the current Minister of Health stated when the Government announced a review of Pharmac, Pharmac funding is a political decision. By starving Pharmac of funding, this Government is consciously consigning vulnerable New Zealanders to needless suffering and death.”

“This crisis stands in stark contrast to the Government’s handling of medicines needed to treat Covid-19. A suite of Covid-19 treatments were purchased in a matter of months. The difference between the Covid-19 medicine fund and Pharmac’s normal operating budget is that the Government has provided an open cheque book to deal with the pandemic. Adding insult to injury for patients waiting for medicines to be funded is that for some, the medicines they are waiting on add another layer of protection against Covid-19.”

“This Government must act and clear Pharmac’s Options for Investment list immediately. This is why we called the Government to include Pharmac’s budget within the terms of reference of the Pharmac Review. Further, we invite comment from each political party as to their commitment to funding Pharmac adequately and putting an end to Pharmac’s waiting list.”

© Scoop Media