Ngaruawahia mother prepares for increased prescription prices

The increased prescription prices scheduled for next year have people like Ngaruawahia mother Donna Slater, 44, concerned.

Prescription prices are set to rise from $3 to $5 for the first 20 items bought per year, which for the Slaters will mean a $40 increase from $60 to $100.

Donna’s son, Chase Annan, 10, was born with cystic fibrosis and has an intellectual disability.

Donna says her family faces an already increasing number of things to pay for.

Hospital stays, Chase’s gluten free diet, prescriptions and supplements see Donna paying around $5,000 each year on top of day-to-day family needs such as school fees, clothing, and sports.

“Although $40 doesn’t sound like much, it is one more cost on another cost and another cost that as a family that work and access no other support except for Chase’s disability allowance, we don’t know what we can cut back on anymore.”

Donna says they grow their own veggies, use a fire for heating to cut down on power costs, do not drink or smoke, and only ever eat out if it is a special occasion.

“There’s nothing left to cut.”

This is not the first financial hurdle Donna and her family has had to face.

In March 2011 New Zealand medication authority Pharmac cut funding on some of Chase’s supplements.

At the time, Donna was putting money aside to make Chase’s dream of spending a white Christmas in New York a reality.

Because of the cut to funding there was no longer any money to put aside.

This is when Donna created the Facebook group ‘Let’s get Chase to New York in 2012’ as a tool for fundraising and to create awareness of Chase’s situation.

They now have 704 ‘likes’ from people all around the world and have raised $18,000 towards their $20,000 goal.

With tickets booked and just the finer details left to finalise, “we’re on the home run for this,” Donna says.

When in New York Chase hopes to visit Helen Clark in the UN, as well as go shopping at the toy shop featured in the movie Arthur, FAO Schwartz.