Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Health Minister Shane Reti have acknowledged they communicated the cancer drugs policy poorly, and say once in government they found Pharmac was the best way to fund them.
Reti announced $604m over four years in extra Pharmac funding, expected to fund up to 54 medicines including 26 cancer treatments, after the Monday Cabinet meeting.
The government had come under pressure after promising during last year's election to start funding 13 specific cancer drugs in this year's Budget.
The Budget did not contain that funding, but Finance Minister Nicola Willis subsequently said the money would come from a pre-allocation from next year's Budget.
Reti apologised to those who were affected by the delay in confirmation of the funding for drugs they had been promised.
Luxon said they had apologised about the communication, and "we were genuinely wrestling with a way in which we could deliver cancer drugs and other drugs to New Zealanders in a consistent, sustainable, proper enduring long-term way".
"As we came to government it became pretty pretty obvious we've got a good model, why would we want to create a second model, and then it's important that we could actually embed it into the Pharmac model."