It's being suggested National's cancer drug funding promise has put Pharmac in a difficult position.
If elected, the party will allocate $280 million over four years, to fund 13 treatments including for lung, bowel, melanoma and kidney cancers.
It would be funded by restricting fee-free prescriptions to superannuitants and those on low incomes.
Medical oncologist Chris Jackson told Mike Hosking this is the first time a political party has told Pharmac what to fund.
He says they're asking for these chosen drugs to be funded first, leap frogging every other patient group.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.