Progesterone To Be Fully Funded For All Who Need It

Pharmac has today confirmed that it is removing
all funding restrictions from progesterone, with tens of
thousands of New Zealanders expected to benefit from access
to the hormone replacement therapy.

“Up until now
progesterone has been funded only for the prevention of
pre-term labour in certain clinical circumstances,” says
Pharmac’s director of operations Lisa Williams.
“Following our recent Budget increase, we are pleased to
be able to fund progesterone without restrictions, meaning
it will be funded when prescribed for any use. This would
include the treatment of menopausal symptoms, and for the
prevention of recurrent early pregnancy loss.”

“We
received overwhelming support to open list progesterone from
those in the healthcare sector and consumers” says Ms
Williams.

Isis McKay from Women’s Health Action says
they are supportive of Pharmac funding progesterone without
restriction.

“Funded access to progesterone will be
particularly beneficial for people experiencing symptoms of
menopause, who have made an informed decision to try
progesterone,” says Ms McKay. “We also believe that this
decision aligns with Pharmac’s Māori Responsiveness
Strategy and Strategic Direction, and will help address
issues of equity, and it may be particularly beneficial to
Māori women.

“Research shows that, despite
experiencing the same level of symptoms relating to
menopause, wahine Māori are less likely to be using or to
have ever used hormone replacement therapy” says Ms McKay.
“This may be due to many factors including personal
choice; however, we do know that inequity plays a part here.
We know that cost is a significant barrier for people when
accessing primary health care and medication, we also know
there are inequities in how medicines are
dispensed.”

“While Pharmac funds a number of
hormone replacement therapies, we know that Māori and
Pacific peoples are currently under-represented in accessing
them,” says Ms Williams. “We want to ensure there is
equitable access to menopause hormone treatment for Māori
and Pacific peoples, and hope that this step of widening
funded access to naturally derived progesterone will help
with that.”

“We’re really grateful for the time
people took to respond to our consultation,” says Ms
Williams. “We heard how supportive people were about the
wide availability of progesterone and we were pleased to
hear the positive impacts this decision will have on New
Zealanders.”

Unrestricted funding will start from 1
December 2022.

Learn more

The funded brand of
progesterone will continue to be Utrogestan, supplied by
Pharmaco. The widening of access to progesterone was
reviewed and supported by the Endocrinology Advisory
Committee, the Reproductive and Sexual Health Advisory
Committee and PTAC. You can read the records of their advice
here.

So
far, this financial year (1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023)
Pharmac has made 22 new investments:

• The Combined
  Pharmaceutical Budget (CPB) has funded four new treatments
  and widened access to 14 medicines.
• The COVID-19
  Recovery & Relief Fund (CRRF) has funded one new
  COVID-19 treatment and widened access to four treatments
  currently
  available.
   

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