24-05-2025
New Zealand Budget 2025 deals a big blow to blood cancer patients
In
New Zealand
, approximately 2,800 people are diagnosed with blood cancer each year.
Yet, the government's 2025 Budget has once again failed to allocate new funding for these critical drugs, leaving thousands of patients facing limited treatment options and uncertain futures.
Unlike many other cancers, blood cancers such as
leukaemia
cannot be treated with surgery or radiation as they rely almost entirely on medicines.
Blood cancer patients, advocates, and doctors have voiced deep frustration and alarm. In a joint statement, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, the Blood Cancer Alliance, and the Cancer Society warned that the Budget "locks in four more years of denied access and patient harm." They emphasised that while the government is 're-celebrating' last year's funding boost, that money is already allocated, meaning no new treatments will be funded.
Tim Edmonds, chief executive of Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, highlighted the gap between promises and reality. 'Only 180 blood cancer patients benefited from last year's funding boost, i.e less than 1 per cent of all New Zealanders living with a blood cancer,'
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Edmonds said. 'This Budget was a chance to deliver on promises to improve
access to cancer medicines
, but once again, blood cancer patients have been left behind. For many patients who had hoped for good news today, waiting another year may simply not be an option.'
This concern echoes a stark warning sent to the government in March by more than 50 haematologists, describing the current funding approach as a 'fundamental health policy failure.' The letter highlighted a dangerous erosion of trust, low morale among clinicians, and avoidable deaths caused by delays in funding clinically proven medicines.
Dr. Rodger Tiedemann, one of the letter's signatories and a consultant haematologist, expressed his disappointment bluntly: 'It's clear from Budget 2025 that we were ignored. When did it become okay for the New Zealand government to overlook the needs of New Zealanders with blood cancer?' New Zealand currently ranks near the bottom of the OECD in access to modern medicines for blood cancer.
Nicola Coom, chief executive of the Cancer Society, emphasized that medicines are the primary treatment option for this group of patients. 'This growing group has been left behind again. Relying on private fundraising and GoFundMe campaigns is not a solution. New Zealand must do better and fund blood cancer medicines. This budget has let this group down.'
The human toll is vividly illustrated by individuals like Rob Crozier, 77, from Ōtaki, diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) at age 54. Despite being on private health insurance that costs him $13,000 annually, which covers some unfunded drugs, Crozier worries about others who cannot afford such coverage. 'You can't treat leukaemia with surgery or radiation, which are options for other cancers; it can only be done with medicine,' he said. 'There are all these fantastic new medicines out there, but you can only access them if you're super rich. And I'm not super rich.'
Crozier's decades-long advocacy for better funding brought him to Parliament on Budget Day, holding onto a hope that this year might bring change. 'We had hoped for even a modest increase in funding, but we've been disappointed again,' he said.
This year's Budget once again missed the mark for blood cancer patients, reinforcing a painful reality: while promising new treatments exist, the barriers to access leave many New Zealanders suffering with blood cancer.
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