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Source: ONE News -
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The government's decision to finance a year-long course of Herceptin for breast cancer has fuelled a political furore.
Opponents say the government has set a dangerous precedent and has set the scene for intervening on other drug funding decisions.
The Herceptin debate has been a long and intensely emotional battle for breast cancer sufferers who have been lobbying politicians hard.
On Wednesday they heard the words they have been waiting for.
"National in government is honouring its commitment that we made to hundreds of New Zealand women," Prime Minister John Key said.
Pharmac began funding nine weeks of Herceptin treatment in July 2007 but the decision was challenged in court and sufferers won a review in April 2008.
But in August, Pharmac again said a 12 month course was not justified scientifically or financially. Two months later, in the midst of the election campaign, National said it would override that decision.
""Having publicly lent our shoulder to the wheel and to the become the government and simply abandoning these women would be atrocious behaviour," said Key.
But Labour's health spokesperson Ruth Dyson says the move is simply playing politics with families.
"I think that is an abuse of quite vulnerable people and just unfair," says Dyson.
Labour also fears the new government is opening the door to drug company lobbying with dozens of new cancer drugs alone coming on the market. Some cost up to $200,000 a year per patient.
"It means the government is now very vulnerable to the lobbying of other individuals who have some other illness, and there are plenty of other people in New Zealand who are not able to get fully funded medication at the moment who are feeling very distressed about this as well," Dyson says.
Labour says the government is running roughshod over medical advice from its own officials.
But Key says he doesn't care what the officials think.
"I care about what I think is right. We campaigned on it and we are honouring our commitment."
