‘Medicine should never be a luxury item, not in a country as lucky as ours,’ says the president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Health organisations have united to call for bipartisan support to reduce the maximum out-of-pocket cost of prescriptions from $31.60 to $19.
According to the group, independent research has shown that a one in five patients have not filled a script due to cost in the last three years, rising to one in three in regional and remote areas.
The change would save patients $440 million in the first year, according to the group, and “strikes the right balance between affordability for patients and sustainability for taxpayers”.
The backers include the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Patients Australia (formerly the Australian Patients Association), Asthma Australia, Family Planning Alliance Australia, QENDO, Australian Association for Adolescent Health, Wounds Australia, Parents & Citizens Queensland, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and Advanced Pharmacy Australia.
President of the Pharmacy Guild Professor Trent Twomey said that skipping medication risked exacerbating poor health.
“Poor health puts everything at risk – work and income, education, and the ability to care for yourself and family,” he said.
“Community pharmacists across the country know patients’ stories of being forced to make the tough choice between filling scripts and other essentials like rent, groceries, and petrol.
“Medicine should never be a luxury item, not in a country as lucky as ours.”
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President of Advanced Pharmacy Australia Tom Simpson said that more needed to be done to keep people out of hospitals.
“Expanding bulk billing is a great step forward, but if we don’t also address the cost of medicines, more Australians will continue to end up in hospitals unnecessarily,” he said.
“Currently, 250,000 Australians are admitted to hospitals each year due to medication-related issues, some of which can be linked to the cost of medicines.
“We applaud the government for making it easier for Australians to visit their GP without relying on their credit card.
“But if we truly want to reduce hospital admissions, people shouldn’t also have to worry about their bank balance when purchasing essential medicines.”
Medications that patients rely on must be affordable and accessible, added CEO of Wounds Australia Jeff Antcliff.
“We know that people spend an average of $4000 a year on managing their chronic wounds, and unfortunately they are often the people who can least afford to bear this expense,” he said.
CEO of Australian Patients Association Lisa Robins said the copayment reduction would make it easier to stay healthy.
“Many Australians are facing significant financial barriers to accessing healthcare, whether it’s the out-of-pocket costs for seeing healthcare professionals or for purchasing prescriptions,” she said.
“We need the government to take action to make it easier for people to stay healthy.”
