250,000 NZers benefit from Govt drug budget

A $60 million funding boost to medicines funding under the National-led Government, means a quarter of a million Kiwis are receiving government subsidised medicines they couldn't have got two years ago.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says, "The community pharmaceutical budget is $710 million this year, and there's another $4 million for cancer treatments and other initiatives."

"The Government's funding boost is benefiting thousands and thousands of patients, making their lives better and healthier."

"When combined with Pharmac's savings-related activity, the extra funding gives considerable scope for more New Zealanders to access new medicines, including new cancer treatments.

"In the past year, Pharmac has funded 13 new medicines and increased access to another 17 medicines, benefiting more than 105,000 patients. And already this year Pharmac has funded 11 new medicines and widened access to another seven benefiting an additional 150,000 patients."

New listings to take effect this year include the first Alzheimer's disease drug, diabetes medicines and a new acne drug.

The medicines that more people are getting include several for cardiac and respiratory problems, depression, and widened access to a drug for Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and severe psoriasis. 

"The number of Government-funded prescriptions has risen by 1.5 million since Budget 2009, indicating that more New Zealanders than ever before are receiving funded medicines.

"We made an election commitment to lift the pharmaceutical spending per head of population, and the extra $60 million so far has brought us up from $151 in 2008/09 to $160 per head of population, and means more patients are benefiting from community medicines and cancer treatments."