In a move that will benefit tens of thousands of New Zealanders, Pharmac has recently confirmed it will remove funding restrictions from progesterone, allowing this hormone to be prescribed fully funded for anyone that needs it. Unrestricted funding will start from 1 December 2022. You may be hearing more and more about body-identical progesterone or ‘natural progesterone’, especially if you’re trying to relieve menopausal symptoms. If you are, here’s what you need to know.

The change comes after Pharmac recently announced a budget increase, allowing them to open up Utrogestan funding list, supplied by Pharmaco. Until now, progesterone had only been funded for the prevention of pre-term labour in certain clinical circumstances. This change is a huge win for a significant number of people who will be able to access funded progesterone for a range of clinical uses, including for menopause hormone therapy. You read that right – progesterone wasn’t previously funded for menopause.