1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: Good afternoon. We've finally got the government announcement on the 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: thirteen cancer drugs. As expected, the government's pumping six hundred 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: and four million dollars extra into Farmac. They say Farmac 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: will buy up to fifty four medicines. Now, that includes 5 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: seven from the thirteen that the National Party had promised. 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: The remaining six will be similar or better. Farm AC 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: Minister David Sema was with me. Now, hey, David, hey, ever, 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: how do you know Farmak's going to buy the seven 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: drugs plus the six similar ones? 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 2: Well, strictly spinking, we don't. What they've done is given 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 2: us an indication of what would be possible for an 12 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 2: amount of money that we're giving them. It is possible 13 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: that as new medicines emerged, as they negotiate better prices 14 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 2: on existing medicines, that they will actually end up funding 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 2: things better than what is currently proposed. But certainly they've 16 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 2: indicated that with the money that we're giving them on 17 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 2: behalf of the text, parer might ad that that's what's possible. 18 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: Have they bumped these drugs up like a higher priority 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: than they actually should be, or have they said in 20 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: order to get to them where they are on the 21 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: priority list, This is how much money we need. 22 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 2: I can be very clear, there's no question that pharmac 23 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 2: is in any way changing its operation. It remains completely independent. 24 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 2: It has its options for an investment list. The closest 25 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 2: that we've come to even anywhere near that independence is saying, look, 26 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: I pathetically, if you were to receive this much money, 27 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 2: how many pharmaceuticals could you fund and would it include 28 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 2: this one? And without giving any more detail, they've said, look, 29 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 2: you know, if you want to fund us this much more, 30 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,919 Speaker 2: this is how many more medicines we'd be able to fund, 31 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 2: and this is how many of those particular ones you're 32 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 2: interested and might be included. But ultimately the decision is 33 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 2: entirely up to them. 34 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: David, you are a guy who has made a political 35 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: career out of being disciplined with spending. How do you 36 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: feel about taking this money out of next year's budget? 37 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: As I putting on the credit, There's. 38 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 2: Very few things that I am in favor of spending 39 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 2: more money on, but medicines are absolutely one of them. 40 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 2: If you look at the amounts of the economy, if 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 2: you look at the amount of health budget, if you 42 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 2: look at the amounts of government spending, that goes on medicines. 43 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 2: New Zealand is not just a bit below average where 44 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 2: way behind the pack. There are too many lists of 45 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,399 Speaker 2: developed countries where New Zealand is not even in the pack, 46 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 2: kind of straddling along at the back. And what that 47 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 2: metaphor means in reality is people who have some sort 48 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: of illness. That cancer is one that is high profile, 49 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 2: but far from the only illness that people have, and 50 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 2: they can only think that had they been born in 51 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 2: a different country, that they would have been able to 52 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 2: get a medicine that would make a dramatic difference to 53 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 2: their life, perhaps saved their life. I've had constituents as 54 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 2: a local MP. One that will always stay with me, 55 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 2: a woman with multiple cleurosis. She had to wait until 56 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 2: her condition to teriorated before the medicine would be funded 57 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 2: in New Sound. As it turned out, she was an 58 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 2: Australian citizen, so she was able to get the medicine 59 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 2: and continue living a good life. That's the difference. And 60 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 2: there's a million examples like that particular one of people 61 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 2: that have ended up having much worse lives because New 62 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 2: Zealand doesn't fund what others do. And we can actually 63 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 2: and I just make one final point. I know I'm 64 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 2: going on, but I believe that in time we will 65 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 2: demonstrate the savings to the rest of the health system 66 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 2: and to the tax system and the wealthier system, because 67 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 2: medicines actually allow people to stay out of hospital, stay 68 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 2: off the doll and at work where they're actually contributing 69 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 2: to the taxpayer's coffers as well as obviously having good 70 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 2: lives themselves. 71 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a fair point to make, David, Thank you 72 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: very much, David Seymore farm Ac Minister. 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