NO MATTER who wins the Federal Election the maximum price patients will pay for medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is set to fall.
After Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, announced a Coalition Government would cut the current PBS general co-payment by $10 a script to $32.50 (PD breaking news) from 01 Jan 2023, Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, went a step further announcing he would cut the fee to $30 per prescription.
The Coalition's election pledge mirrored a measure erroneously announced as part of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Support and Other Measures) Bill 2022, by Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, but was subsequently scrubbed from the parliamentary record, Hansard (PD 01 Apr), which he said would come into effect yesterday.
While the cut falls short of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia's call for a $19 maximum co-payment, the organisation's President, Trent Twomey, described the move as a "genuine win for patients".
"On behalf of patients, we and our partners the Australian Patients Association, Chronic Pain Australia and Musculoskeletal Australia are thrilled that both major parties have now committed to making medicines more affordable if they are elected," he said.
"A bipartisan commitment to address the cost of prescription medicines is a win for patients around the country who have been doing it tough and is a step in the right direction to restoring universal access to the PBS.
"Community pharmacies see patients struggling to afford medicines from prescription to prescription and from paycheck to paycheck.
"As the cost of living rises, patients are increasingly finding themselves being forced to choose between putting food on the table or buying the medicines they and their families need.
"We don't want to see Australians ending up in emergency, in hospital, or with long term damage to their health because they have been forced to delay or skip taking essential medicines due to cost.
"This announcement is an acknowledgement of the importance of medicine affordability at a time when Australians are struggling with the cost of living."
Twomey added that the Guild would "continue to advocate for the maximum PBS co-payment to be regularly reviewed and lowered by government as a way to relieve the hip pockets of Australians and ensure patients who are prescribed medicines actually have the means to take them".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 02 May 22
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 02 May 22
