COMMENT A prescription for better access to medicine

• Published date: 02 June 2023
• Author: Kathy Spencer was a deputy director-general in the Ministry of Health, a general manager in ACC, and a manager in the Treasury Kathy Spencer
• Publication title: Northern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said the co-payment had prevented around 135,000 adults from collecting one or more prescription medicines in 2021/22. Removing the charge is definitely a step in the right direction

However, many people face other prescription costs and these can be far larger than the $5 co-payment.

Every three months, a person taking a medicine long-term has to request a “repeat prescription” from their GP and collect medicine from a pharmacy. The cost of obtaining a repeat prescription varies across GP practices but is typically around $25 per script, or $100 a year.

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders take medicines long-term for conditions like high cholesterol or blood pressure. Statins, for example, are taken by half a million people to reduce cholesterol and lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The medicines are often very cheap. Pharmac pays only $6.75 for a year’s supply of a...