Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has admitted the Government "could have done a better job communicating" its pre-election promise of funding 13 new cancer drugs in Aotearoa.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered the Coalition Government's first Budget on Thursday.
But it wasn't what was in it that drew criticism, rather what was left out.
The Government said it was forced to spend $1.77 billion towards Pharmac's budget after Labour left what the Coalition described as a funding "cliff". That funding cliff was the reason Willis gave for National's failure to deliver on its cancer funding promises.
But for patients like Vickie Hudson Craig, who's paying $5000 a month for cancer treatment with one of the 13 promised drugs, it's devastating. She told Newshub votes were given to National on the back of that promise.
Now, Dr Reti has admitted failing when it comes to communicating the timeline of rolling out these drugs for Kiwis.
"I think we certainly acknowledge that we could have done a better job communicating," he told Newshub on Sunday.
"We never said at any point that they weren't going to be funded, but maybe not always clear as to what the timeframe might look like. So, we're absolutely bringing that clarity here now that we are committed to the cancer drugs that we campaigned on."
Time is lives for those waiting on the funding. So, when can Kiwis expect it?
"Soon," Dr Reti said.
"We're looking to deploy the cancer drugs that we campaigned on. You'll understand that some of them are still to be registered, so there's some work to be done. But, we're anticipating making announcements soon.
"Clearly, we've got discussions to have with Pharmac and with the Cancer Control Agency. But very soon we'll make that announcement, and in that we'll have a clearer picture as to what the rollout will be."
When pushed again on how "soon", Dr Reti eventually assured it would be "definitely in this year, without question".
For now, Pharmac's $1.77 billion over four years will cover ongoing costs for existing medicines - not the extra cancer drugs promised by National before the 2023 election.
But Dr Reti too blamed the "fiscal cliff" left behind from the previous Government.
"The fiscal cliff, we walked into the Pharmac fiscal cliff. The previous Government did not future fund a range of medicines," he said.
"They funded them through until the end of June and we walked into that fiscal cliff. And clearly it wasn't going to be possible to suddenly tell people, 'Look, you now have to stop taking your blood pressure medicines' or whatever.
"So, in collaboration with Minister [David] Seymour on behalf of Pharmac and the Minister of Finance through the budget process, we've committed the $1.77b, which includes those medicines in the fiscal cliff so that they can continue."
When asked if he wasn't aware of the "fiscal cliff" during the election campaign, Dr Reti said National was aware of "parts of it, but other parts weren't apparent to us until we came into Government".
"Our message is that we're committed to lifting the game in cancer. You've seen us take our first definitive steps - increasing the breast cancer screening age so that we align with Australia and our ongoing commitment to fund the drugs that we campaigned on. We will lift the breast cancer game. We will lift cancers across New Zealand."
