Time for health insurance industry to speak up

The recent focus on Pharmac’s place in the progress of trade talks with the United States has been more than a bit myopic. It has centred on powerful and politically connected US pharmaceutical companies being a real threat to the longevity of our own ‘dedicated minder of the New Zealand public purse’. Pharmac will no doubt relish repeating some of the supportive comments from previously critical quarters in its annual report. The irony aside, the debate about whether Pharmac should be a victim of change so New Zealand can become an acceptable part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a free trade agreement between Asian and Pacific countries - needs to have wider scope. If the National coalition government allows its negotiating team to tinker at the edges of the Pharmac structure, it must be with clear understanding of the domino effect. Take health insurance for example. Concessions to the US pharmaceutical lobby are generally accepted to mean the cost of US drugs to New Zealand will go up, ultimately pushing up insurance premiums and altering payouts. Alternatively, India’s generics may get a bigger look in. You can be sure they are standing by, ready. New Zealand’s health insurance industry needs to speak up and get the calculators out.