Pharmacists call for more cuts to prescription co-payment due to rising number of Australians unable to afford medicine

One in five Australians say they have been unable to afford to get a medicine prescription, with pharmacists saying the “working poor” are hit hardest.

EXCLUSIVE

One in five Australians say they have been unable to afford a prescribed medicine in the last three years despite a price cut under Labor, as pharmacists warn the “working poor” who don’t qualify for extra help are being hit hardest.

There has been more than a 50 per cent increase in non-concession card holders struggling with medicine affordability, with 17 per cent reporting as of November they had been unable to pay for a script compared to 11 per cent in April 2022, according to a national survey by Insightfully commissioned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

One in five Australians say they could not afford a script in the past three years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Nationally about 21 per cent of people were not able to cover a prescription, with the situation even worse in regional Australia where 27 per cent reported going without, delaying or deferring purchasing medicine.

In NSW, Tasmania and South Australia about 22 per cent of people have been unable to afford to get a script filled in the last three years, while Queensland had the highest rate with 23 per cent and Victoria the lowest with 18 per cent.

The maximum cost for a subsidised script was dropped from $42.50 to $30 by Labor in 2022, which has since been indexed to $31.60.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Professor Trent Twomey says the script co-payment should be dropped to $19. Picture: Allen Mechen.

While concession card holders can access scripts for $7.70, Pharmacy Guild of Australia President Trent Twomey said the so-called “working poor” – Australians on a household income of less than $130,000 and not on any form of benefits – were “really struggling” at the moment.

“Lowering of the (prescription) co-payment did make a difference, but it didn’t solve the problem,” he said.

Prof Twomey said the co-payment must be dropped to $19 to capture what the Australian Bureau of Statistics has estimated is the threshold where people would no longer defer or delay a script.

“If we’re going to have a universal healthcare system, it needs to look after 27 million Australians, not just those with healthcare card, not just those with a benefit, but working everyday Australians need to be able to be able to afford to not only see a doctor, but get the script the doctor writes dispensed,” he said.

Insightfully founder and director Leanne White said the survey also revealed the “additional struggle” that people in regional Australia have with affording healthcare.

Health Minister Mark Butler says Australians have saved $1.2bn in out-of-pocket medicine costs under Labor. Picture: NewsWire/ Scott Gelston

“The number of people who have been unable to afford medications prescribed medications at some point over the last three years is so much higher in regional Australia than right across the country,” she said.

Health Minister Mark Butler said Labor’s “hard-fought” reforms were delivering cheaper medicines to millions of Australians, who had already saved $1.2 billion in out-of-pocket costs since 2022.

“The Albanese Labor Government has lowered the maximum co-pay on prescriptions, slashed the amount pensioners and concession card holders pay for their medicine in a year by 25 per cent, introduced the landmark 60-day prescriptions, and from the 1st of January this year we froze the cost of medicines for everyone, ensuring medicines stay cheaper,” he said.

Mr Butler said in contrast the Coalition voted against the plans to make medicines cheaper.

Originally published as Pharmacists call for more cuts to prescription co-payment due to rising number of Australians unable to afford medicine