Our report on Government delays in funding some of the newer drugs on the market, and nib’s solution to help fund them for eligible policyholders, was this week’s most popular story…
Pharmac, the agency responsible for funding drugs approved by Medsafe, takes more than seven years to make decisions on new medicines, claim the authors of a new report.
Campaign group Medicines New Zealand believes the wait time will increase and its report Pharmac’s Waiting List states that access to modern medicines remains challenging for those who need them via the publicly funded system.
In a separate Medicines NZ report, a graph of 31 OECD counties places New Zealand at the bottom of the list when it comes to funding new treatments. Australia is placed 17, and top of the list is Germany.
While Medsafe can approve drugs for use, they aren’t always quickly funded by Pharmac. Nib says while these drugs can be lifesaving, they can be extremely expensive, sometimes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The firm says its non-Pharmac Plus option can be added to its client’s easy health or ultimate health max policy to provide increased access to “…many Medsafe-approved drugs that are not funded by Pharmac”.
