industry & reform
‘ Good for the hip pocket ’
PM ’ s cheaper medicines pledge hits snag
By NCA Newswire and Arshmah Jamal
The government has accused the coalition of standing in the way of millions of Australians accessing cheaper medicines , as they seek to delay the rollout of 60-day dispensing .
On August 10 , coalition senators Anne Ruston and Bridget McKenzie said if Labor didn ’ t pause their 60-day dispensing policy – set to come into effect on September 1 – they would move a disallowance motion . The next day the coalition deferred the vote but said it had lodged another motion to delay the laws after they come into effect .
“ Today we sought to ensure that this policy could be implemented without perverse consequences like job losses or restricted access to health care services , particularly for regional Australians and vulnerable Australians ,” Senator Ruston said .
“ Senator McKenzie and I have another motion with the clerk should the government continue to refuse to guarantee that no pharmacy will close , and no Australian will be worse off as a result of this measure ,” she added .
It came a day after the powerful Pharmacy Guild called on the government to pause its dispensing rollout , citing a new survey that showed “ hundreds of pharmacies are reducing opening hours , cutting staff and increasing fees for services ”.
Senator Ruston , the opposition ’ s health spokeswoman , said there were “ legitimate concerns ” that the policy “ could see community pharmacies close down and result in vulnerable Australians paying more for their healthcare ”.
“ The government must get this right and so far , they have shown no ability to do so ,” she said .
“ Otherwise , there will be significant and foreseeable risks for Australians who need support , particularly people in rural and regional communities , aged-care residents and patients with chronic diseases .”
Pharmacists have previously warned the plan – which would allow millions of Australians access to two months of prescription medicines at a time – would prompt mass closures and thousands of job losses .
“ This has been
supported by every significant patient group in the country and every doctor ’ s group as well
Health Minister Mark Butler said the government was committed to the policy , which would be “ good for the hip pocket ”.
“ This halves the cost of these medicines for patients . But it ’ s also good for health and it frees up millions of GP consults that we desperately need for important health conditions rather than routine scripts being issued by doctors ,” Mr Butler said .
“ This has been supported by every significant patient group in the country and every doctor ’ s group as well .”
“ It ’ s time that people in the Senate overall took the opportunity to make medicines affordable at a time of cost-of-living crisis ,” Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson told reporters in Canberra .
Asked why he wouldn ’ t consider a pause on the policy to allow more time for consultation , Mr Butler said the option “ was not put to us ”.
“ Because the coalition backed the pharmacy lobby instead of six million patients , those patients have shelled out hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that the medicines experts who manage the PBS say they shouldn ’ t have had to pay ,” he said .
Mr Butler acknowledged that smaller rural pharmacies operated differently and relied on the dispensing income , which was why
“ a very large transition packaged for small rural pharmacies ” was put in place .
“ We ’ ve already doubled the allowance they received just to stay open . That came into effect on the 1st of July ,” Mr Butler told ABC RN . “ In addition to that , there ’ s a very big package of support over and above that , which means that small rural pharmacies , which is the vast bulk of them , will receive 100 per cent of the reduction in dispensing income .”
Greens health spokesman Jordan Steele-John said the community had been crying out for changes to dispensing rules .
“ We are incredibly proud that after years of the Greens calling for the change , the government has agreed to support better access to medicines for people with opioid dependency ,” he said . ■
8 agedcareinsite . com . au