MOVES to lower the maximum general Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) co-payment announced by both Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, are being welcomed by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA).
SHPA CEO, Kristen Michaels, said Labor's policy of cutting the co-payment to a maximum of $30 per prescription - $2.50 less than the Coalition's proposed rate - would deliver savings of $150 for Australians taking regular PBS-listed medicines.
"With the rising costs of living we know many Australians, particularly our most vulnerable patients -- those belonging to lower socioeconomic groups, and those who suffer from multiple chronic conditions -- are increasingly struggling to afford medicines.
"Hospital Pharmacists are responsible for 24% of all PBS expenditure, supplying just under five million PBS prescriptions annually to patients, and these significant figures continue to grow year on year.
"Hospital Pharmacists and their healthcare colleagues, who are keenly aware of the barriers patients face when attempting to receive timely and quality access to life-saving medicines, welcome this bipartisan support for guaranteeing significant savings for PBS medicines.
"We welcome the bipartisan support to further reduce co-payment amounts for PBS medicines and improved medicines affordability for patients, many of whom are still required to pay well above standard co-payment amounts for non-PBS medicines.
"This will inevitably reduce preventable admissions and keep more Australians out of the hospital system."
However, an article published across News Corp titles noted that the proposed $10 to $12.50 cuts to the general co-payment would impact fewer than 3% of patients, with many of the most commonly prescribed medicines listed on the PBS costing less than $30.
Meanwhile, it is unclear whether there could be unintended consequences stemming from the policy shift, which could result in patients paying more for PBS listed medicines that pharmacies can currently discount.
However, both the Coalition and Labor have stated that, "all scripts currently counting towards a patient's safety net will continue to do so".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 03 May 22
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