Colin Ambler/cvnznews.com
The election campaign has revealed growing agreement between National and ACT on increasing funding for medicines, with both parties pledging greater investment in Pharmac and arguing that spending priorities should focus more heavily on New Zealand patients.
National’s health spokesperson, Simeon Brown, announced that a re-elected National Government would provide an additional $604 million boost to Pharmac’s medicines budget. The party says the funding would help secure more medicines, widen access to existing treatments, and expand cancer screening programmes nationwide.
Brown said National had already delivered a record medicines funding increase and wanted to go further by backing new treatments, clinical trials, and access to CAR-T cell therapy. National also plans to reduce some overseas aid spending outside the Pacific and cut administration costs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to help fund the investment.
The proposal includes lowering the free bowel screening age to 50 by 2029, extending free breast screening to age 74, introducing pilots for prostate and lung cancer screening, and making cervical screening free for women aged 25 to 69 from March 2027.
ACT Leader David Seymour welcomed National’s announcement, describing it as a move in ACT’s direction. He said ACT had long argued New Zealand spends too little on medicines compared with Australia and had proposed a plan to gradually close that gap over time.
Seymour said Pharmac now has a four-year budget of $7.2 billion and has funded or expanded access to 135 medicines, including 47 cancer treatments. However, he argued more funding is needed so patients can access medicines already assessed and approved for potential funding.
While ACT supports National’s additional $604 million commitment, Seymour noted it represents only part of ACT’s larger proposal to increase medicines spending to match Australia’s share of health expenditure by 2033.
Both parties also expressed support for reducing some government spending in areas they consider lower priorities, including portions of New Zealand’s overseas aid budget, and redirecting savings toward healthcare.
The announcements suggest medicines funding and cancer treatment access will be a key area of cooperation if National and ACT form the next government following the election.
