Australians To Have Access To More Prescriptions For Half The Price

Millions of Australians will have access to double the amount of prescriptions for the price of one script under a shake up to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Health Minister Mark Butler is expected to officially announce the changes today, which the federal government believes will save general patients up to $180 a year.

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For concession patients, they could save up to $43.80 a year on medications.

The review overall will save Australians more than $1.6 billion over the next four years, with it understood any savings will be reinvested back into community pharmacies.

Up to six million Australians will benefit from the changes, which the government also expects will save patients time and money visiting the GP and money through lower pharmacy subsidies.

The changes will come into effect from September 1, applying to hundreds of chronic health medicines including heart disease, high cholesterol, Crohn’s disease and hypertension.

A doctor will have the final say on whether to grant its patients access to the two-month supply of medication.

However, the move is expected to stir the pharmacy lobby which says the access to more medication could increase chances of overdose and cause more shortages to crucial medications. 

“While this proposal may be well-intentioned, it has some potentially dangerous consequences,” Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey warned in a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a letter on April 2.

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