HEALTH Waikato school bus driver forced to self-fund cancer drug Keytruda after Pharmac postpones support
Access to healthcare is a “basic right”, yet rationing by delay to standard of care medicines, continues in NZ. This is causing premature death for countless patients.
The ongoing delay by Pharmac to reimburse immunotherapy in first line NSCLC is causing a (preventable) humanitarian crisis, whereby up to 30 patients per week are dying prematurely (non small cell lung cancer = 80% of all lung cancers and small cell lung cancer = 20%).
Pharmac is an instrument of government, therefore our government MUST do better for our most vulnerable.
Lung Foundation NZ has done an assessment and we believe $50 million for immunotherapy reimbursement would put an end to this state sponsored crisis.
