Labour has pledged to provide Pharmac with a more than $1 billion boost over the next four years if re-elected to power.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins made the announcement in Auckland's Ōtāhuhu at a health clinic today.
He said the cash injection would "turbocharge" Pharmac to get more medicines to New Zealanders in need.
Labour would provide $181 million in funding per year from the 2024/2025 fiscal year so Pharmac could continue to meet the ongoing cosrt of additional treatments Labour had funded, Hipkins said.
"In addition, we will pump in an extra $50 million for new treatments from 2024/25, rising to $100 million per year in 2026/2027.
"This funding boost will provide more cancer treatment as well as treatment for other conditions too.
"Overall our boost will increase Pharmac's funding by more than $1 billion over the next four years, a total increase of 62% since Labour took office in 2017."
Hipkins said Labour's increased investment was "in stark contrast" to National's track record.
"Under National, Pharmac was starved of funding when they froze its budget for three years and only increased the medicines budget by 25% over nine years.
"When Labour came into government, Pharmac's funding was only $870 million a year, it's now $1.2 billion a year.
"Our funding boosts have meant Pharmac has made available 75 new listings and widened access to 137 treatments.
"It's estimated that over 118,000 New Zealanders have benefited from the funding decisions implemented in 2021/2022 alone."
Hipkins said Labour was continue to support Pharmac's independence to "ensure that all medicines are considered, not just those that appeal to certain politicians".
"We want to give Pharmac the funding it needs to strike the best deals it can on behalf of all New Zealanders, not only those conditions singled out by National.
"National's plan punishes those who rely on free prescriptions and seriously undermines Pharmac's ability to work to strike the best deal for New Zealanders.
"No one chooses to be unwell, and medicine can be expensive, that's why Labour will continue to grow the amount and types of medicines New Zealanders can access."
'Cynical election season bribe' and a 'placebo'
ACT leader David Seymour said Labour's Pharmac announcement was "nothing but a cynical election season bribe".
"New Zealanders know the Government books are in terrible shape and they want fiscally responsible policies, not promises of big spending and more debt six weeks out from an election.
"Labour's PREFU failed to continue Pharmac's $120 million funding boost from next year, relying on reducing Pharmac's funding to make the numbers stack up. Labour scrapped policies to give the impression of economic management only to then go and announce more debt-fuelled spending they know Kiwis can't afford.
"Faced with some bad polls and creeping desperation, Labour has resorted to announcing populist fantasy policies they know they can't deliver and will only cost Kiwis more. It is exactly the cynical type of politics that Kiwis are sick of."
He said Hipkins wanted to "spend like New Zealand has a strong economy".
"But thanks to Labour's economic management there's no money left."
He said ACT would "cut waste and lift our economic performance so that we can afford the medicines and healthcare Kiwis deserve".
"Pharmac needs significant changes to deliver for those most in need. ACT supports the Pharmac review's call for a Medicines Strategy that would increase oversight, transparency, and a direction of travel for medicines access in our health system."
NZ First leader Winston Peters said the announcement was a "placebo".
"Not only is the Pharmac model a failure, which Labour and other parties seek to persist with, but New Zealand is now investing less than a third per person of what Australia does for access to first world pharmaceuticals.
"New Zealand First has already announced a policy to get rid of Pharmac and replace it with a model that works, then add an extra $1.3b per year to its currently grossly underfunded budget."
He said that was the kind of "real investment" required.
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