The Government’s increase to Pharmac funding is a
pathetic shadow of what is needed just to maintain medicine
supplies and will actually limit New Zealanders’ ability
to access important medication, National’s Health
spokesperson Michael Woodhouse says.
“The $10
million increase to Pharmac in 2020-21 is less than 1 per
cent of its baseline and falls well short of inflation. It
pales in comparison to the previous National Government’s
annual increases, which averaged to $24 million a
year.
“At a time of real need it beggars belief that
the Government is skimping on funding. There is going to be
increased pressure for medicines as a result of the Covid-19
crisis and we need to be prepared.
“The Health
Minister admits the increase isn’t a ramp-up. I would go
further and say that it is a significant ramp-down in real
funding.
“Dr Clark continues to portray the previous
switch of $114.2 million in 2018/19 as a net increase in
medicines funding when in fact it was simply a transfer of
purchasing power from hospitals to Pharmac to purchase
medicines already being purchased by hospitals.
“It
was a bit like transferring money from your cheque account
to your savings, at the end of the day you’re not any
better off.
“Today’s announcement means it will be
tougher for patients to get the drugs they need and they
will be the ones missing out. We have already seen a
spending commitment on Keytruda delayed due to fiscal
constraints and this announcement makes similar decisions
more likely.
“Instead of trying to mislead the
public and pretend they’re addressing the issue with spin,
the Government needs to front up and ensure our hospitals
and Pharmac have the support needed to get the job
done.”
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