“The interim report into PHARMAC is now a month overdue and patients who’ve made a submission in good faith deserve an update,” says ACT Deputy Leader and Health spokesperson Brooke van Velden.
“ACT was the first party to call for a review into PHARMAC. Both Labour and National agreed they would follow through while under pressure during an election debate. Minister Andrew Little now needs to follow though so this is not just a cynical election bribe.
“Many New Zealanders lives depend on certain drugs being funded. Those who made submissions are now in the dark about when this report will be made public. That’s just not good enough.
“It wasn't right that the review explicitly excluded funding considerations. Now, the Government has dropped the ball again by not following up on the review committee's progress.
“New Zealanders deserve this review to be done properly. And we deserve an update about why the Minister hasn’t received this when it was due over a month ago.
"Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little put in black and white that the interim report would be back by August. It's now nearly the end of September.
"Given the draft has been delayed, will the final report due in December be delayed too?
“The Minister needs to show some respect and compassion for those who submitted to this and give them an update.”