Pharmacy Guild plan to halve PBS general patient charge for prescription medicine prices

The Pharmacy Guild has declared war on discount chains like Chemist Warehouse. See how it could affect you and the common drugs you buy. SEE THE LIST

Exclusive: It sounds like the deal of the century — half price prescription medicines — but there’s a sting in the tail.

The Pharmacy Guild has declared war on discount chemist chains like Chemist Warehouse

with a campaign to get the government to slash the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme’s (PBS) $41.30 general patient charge to $19.

The problem is taxpayers will have to pick up the $1.53 billion bill even though they can already buy their medicines half price at discounting pharmacies — and some consumers could end up paying more for their meds.

The price of cholesterol lowering statins, antibiotics, diabetes medicine metformin and antidepressant efexor would more than double in price at discount chemists if customers want them to count towards their PBS Safety Net under the Pharmacy Guild plan, Chemist Warehouse said.

Currently general patients on multiple medications get the price of them slashed to just $6.60 under a government safety net once they spend more than $1497.20 each year on subsidised prescription medicines.

But under the Pharmacy Guild plan chemists who discounted medicines that cost more than the new $19 patient charge would have to dispense them as private scripts and they would not count towards the safety net — making the reduction to $6.60 impossible.

Many of the nation’s biggest selling pills currently cost just over $20 on the PBS.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President Trent Twomey said he is calling for the price cut because Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys show one in eight people can’t afford to have their scripts filled and Australia has one of the highest patient charges in the world.

Pharmacy Guild President Trent Twomey. Picture: Supplied

Chemist Warehouse Chief Operating Officer Mario Tascone. Picture: Supplied

“We just need to address the simple undeniable fact that the general co-payment in Australia has completely outpaced the ability for Australians to meet those costs,” he said.

“We have the highest copay out of a basket of countries in the OECD, we have the third highest level of people skipping medications in the OECD.”

Mr Twomey has put the plan to the government and the Opposition and is promising to campaign hard on the issue during the upcoming federal election.

He said the safety net concerns were overblown.

“Even now, less than one per cent of PBS scripts are dispensed to patients that have reached the General Safety Net threshold,” he said.

“As Chemist Warehouse have pointed out, the reforms would not stifle competition as they could continue to offer discounts.”

A spokesman for Health Minister Greg Hunt said more than 91 per cent of PBS medicines were dispensed to concession card holders where PBS subsidised scripts were no more than $6.60. 

”We would be deeply concerned at any proposal by the ALP or others to remove the capacity for pharmacists to offer discounts to pensioners,” the spokesman said. 

Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said “for those who can’t access concession prices, medications have gone up and up under eight long years of Liberal governments”.

“All Australians should have access to affordable medicines so they can stay healthy and live full and productive lives,” he said.

Chemist Warehouse chief operating officer Marion Tascone branded the proposal “bananas” and “silly and said “it’s only aimed at trying to make them more competitive against the competition from discount pharmacies.”

Analysis by the Pharmacy Guild shows almost three in every four scripts dispensed to general patients under the PBS already cost less than $19.

“They (non discounting pharmacies) lose customers because they charge $22 for (cholesterol lowering medicine) atorvastatin and when they can go to Chemist Warehouse and get it for $7.50,” Mr Tascone said.

“Under this proposal that drug would be price locked at $19, which is great for people that were paying $22, they save $2.50,” he said.

“It’s not great for the guys that were paying $7.50 because if they want that product to still count towards a safety net, they’re going to have to pay $19 for it. That just penalises the customer.”

However, Mr Tascone does concede some customers using high cost medicines priced over $41.30 would benefit from cheaper drugs under the plan with their script costs being cut in half.

The Pharmacy Guild estimates 8.7 per cent of the scripts filled every year cost more than $41.30.

“They want the taxpayer to pay for this,” Mr Tascone said.

“If you want to make medicines more affordable work harder, work more efficiently so you can offer the discounts to your patients like we do. Let the free market drive the prices down not the taxpayer.”

Originally published as Pharmacy Guild plan to halve PBS general patient charge for prescription medicine prices