Federal Government to establish $20b medical research fund.
The Federal Government has released its 2014-15 budget in which it has announced it will create a Medical Research Future Fund, projected to reach $20b by 2019-20.
Health savings would be invested in this fund until it reached $20b, which would make it the largest fund of its kind in the world, the budget said.
This funding would be in addition to that received by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Treasurer Joe Hockey said.
The fund would be established from 01 Jan 2015 and when mature would provide income to double current medical research funding, with an additional $1b a year available by 2022-23 to “find the discoveries and cures necessary to underpin the healthy system of the future.”
It would ensure the goverment could maintain its existing level of health investment, while delivering a sustainable system in the future, the budget said.
The budget also confirmed increased co-payments for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines, and a gradual increase in eligibility thresholds for the PBS safety net over the next four years for all patients, as well as patient cotribution towards GP visits of $7, the budget said.
For more, see tomorrow’s Pharmacy Daily.
