On 24 June, the government announced extra funding for cancer drugs. The funding is $604 million over four years, which will cover up to 54 medicines, including 26 cancer drugs. The money goes to Pharmac, who decides which medicines to fund and who manages the budget for those medicines.

Some of the new cancer drugs should be available from October or November, but others might not be available until next year. The Health Minister, Dr Shane Reti, said that this will benefit about 175,000 people in the first year.

National promised to fund 13 cancer drugs before the election, but that was not included in this year’s Budget. Listen to Funding for cancer drugs to hear more about this story.

Vocabulary

announce – to officially tell people something, especially a plan or decision

budget (small b) – the money that an organisation or person has

Budget (capital B) – an official statement from the government about how much income it has and how much it will spend