Government drug-funding agency Pharmac is moving to be more flexible about what treatments it will pay for, but warns it is not a catch-all scheme.
Pharmac's board has approved changes to its Exceptional Circumstances criteria so people will no longer need to have unique or rare conditions to be eligible.
Pharmac will start using the new system from March next year and expects the cost to rise from $4 million to about $8 million in the first year.
Chief executive Matthew Brougham told Morning Report it will allow more flexibility about what drugs it pays for.
"Of course it's not a back door, if you like, for funding everything that we don't fund currently. We will still be assessing drugs for whether or not they work and whether or not they offer good value for money."
At present, Pharmac assesses over 2000 applications a year under the scheme, he says.
