Equity at risk? Call to retain ethnicity criteria for key diabetes medicines
In a recent opinion piece in Pharmacy Today and NZDoctor by our expert advisor on prescription medicine Dr Leanne Te Karu warns that proposed changes by Pharmac could make health inequities worse for Māori and Pacific whānau.
Pharmac is thinking about removing a rule that helps Māori and Pacific peoples get better access to important diabetes medicines like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Right now, Māori and Pacific peoples are more likely to get diabetes earlier, get sicker faster, and not always get the same access to the medicines and care they need. The current system was designed to help fix this by making sure people who need it most can get these medicines sooner.
Evidence shows this approach has been working, more Māori and Pacific peoples have been able to access treatment, and it has helped improve health outcomes and survival.
Removing this support before the wider system is fixed could mean going backwards.
Submissions close 28 May. This is a chance to speak up for fair access to life-saving medicines for our whānau.
Pharmac proposal to remove ethnicity criteria criticised
Pharmac is facing strong criticism in NZDoctor and Pharmacy Today over a proposal to remove ethnicity as a criterion for access to several diabetes medicines, with opponents warning the change could lead to more Māori and Pacific deaths and deepen long-standing inequities in the health system.
The proposal would amend Special Authority settings that currently prioritise access for groups disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes, including Māori and Pacific peoples who experience higher rates of earlier onset and more severe complications.
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board was quoted by both publications because we say removing ethnicity equity criteria raises serious concerns about whether Pharmac is meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to achieve equitable Māori health outcomes.
We are warning that “treating all universally in the system does not create fairness. It entrenches inequity.”
Our board is calling for Pharmac to retain ethnicity-based access criteria, publish its equity impact analysis before consultation proceeds, clearly demonstrate how Māori health outcomes would improve under the proposed change, and engage directly with iwi Māori partnership boards, Māori clinicians and Māori health providers.
Submissions on the consultation close on 28 May 2026 leaving just 13 days for feedback on a proposal that critics say could reshape access to essential diabetes treatment.
Explicit safeguards wanted for 12-month prescribing for Māori
For 12-month prescribing to be safe for Māori explicit safeguards are needed, Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board says in a Position Statement authored by pharmacist Leanne Te Karu.
Ensuring barriers to access are recognised and removed is key, rather than reduced Māori engagement with their prescriber and medicines by way of a longer prescribing period.
The extended period will work well if it reduces routine GP visits for people with stable conditions, easing pressure on primary care services, but may not provide the same benefits to Māori Tiratū chief executive Brandi Hudson says.