Up to 33,000 New Zealanders are set to benefit from the Government's new proposal to step-up funding for PHARMAC.

The agency's new funding package includes five new treatments aimed at children with autism, attention deficit disorders, and lung disease, while also proposing better use of 33 existing treatments.

It is a four-year, $60 million funding boost and was unveiled today by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman in a pre-Budget announcement. 

The government drug-buying agency has seen its budget increased by $220 million since National came into power, now up to $870 million in the coming financial year. 

Dr Coleman said the funding is significant and will end up benefiting hundreds of thousands of people.

"If you look at the trend over time - in the last two years, 109,000 [New Zealanders] have benefited from 62 new and widened access subsidized medicines. So you're talking about hundreds of thousands over time."