Coalition delays plan to kill off half-price scripts

A plan to block the government’s 60-day dispensing policy has been sensationally delayed. See why.

A plan to block the government’s 60-day dispensing policy has been sensationally delayed, but the Coalition has warned the government must make serious amendments.

On Wednesday, the opposition threatened to move a disallowance motion in the senate to pause the rollout until more consultation and reparations were done, but on Thursday confirmed they would not proceed.

The powerful Pharmacy Guild has long warned that the policy – due to take effect on September 1 – would cause community pharmacies to close and put thousands of people out of work.

Senator Ann Rushton says the Coalition has serious concerns Picture: AAP

It remains unclear whether it was a lack of support from crossbench senators, or Health Minister Mark Butler’s earlier threat to rip up negotiations with the Pharmacy Guild, that caused the Coalition to pause its motion.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said while the Coalition supported giving Australians access to cheaper medicines, they had serious concerns about the impact the policy would have on community pharmacies.

The policy – a cornerstone promise of the Labor government that it took to the last election – would allow doctors to issue prescriptions for 60-day supplies, up from 30 days, of around 320 medicines used to treat long-term medical conditions.

Senator Ruston said the delay would allow the government to ensure it “puts their money where their mouth is” and make sure Australians do get the cost of living benefit from the measure.

She said the Coalition supported cheaper medicines but claimed the government had botched consultation with pharmacies.

“So we won’t move the disallowance today, we will postpone it until a later date, to give the government the opportunity to actually show the good faith,” senator Ruston said.

“(Health Minister Mark) Butler said this morning. I hadn’t given him enough time. So I’m offering to table and to deal with some of these issues.”

They could try again to move the disallowance motion, but with the policy set to be implemented from September 1, it’s likely they will instead be looking to the government to make good on its promise of “good faith”.

WHY HALF PRICE SCRIPTS FACE THE AXE

Six million Australians could lose access to half price scripts from next month under the controversial move by the Coalition to disallow the measure in the Senate.

And pharmacies will lose access to $1.2 billion of government investment as a result of the move.

Australians will be denied a major cost of living reduction which would have cut their medicine bills by up to $180 a year if the disallowance gets majority support in the Senate.

Earlier, Senator Ruston said the Coalition supported cheaper scripts but was more concerned about how the policy would affect the viability of pharmacies.

“We support 60-day dispensing. However, the Albanese Labor Government needs to appropriately consider the flow-on impacts of their implementing this policy.

The government did not adequately consult with community pharmacists before they announced this policy,” she said in a media statement.

Greens health spokesman Senator Jordon Steele-John. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, Senator Bridget McKenzie, said there was particular concern for rural and regional communities and their local family-run pharmacies which will be disproportionately harmed.

Health Minister Mark Butler said patients would lose hundreds of dollars as a result of the Coalition’s move and pharmacies would also be impacted.

“I need to be clear about what the consequences of disallowing this measure will be, because not only will it block access to cheaper medicines for six million Australians but $1.2 billion worth of investment in community pharmacy for the benefit of customers will also need to be withdrawn because it is funded by these savings,” he said..

The Greens said yesterday they would not be supporting the Coalition’s bid to disallow half price scripts. This means the Coalition will need all the other five crossbenchers to support the move.

“Following consultation with consumers and health care providers, the Australian Greens Party Room supports the community’s access to cheaper medicines, which will come into effect from the 1st September 2023,” Senator Jordon Steele-John, Greens spokesperson for health, said.

Australian Medical Association president Professor Steve Robson wants half price scripts to go ahead. Picture: Supplied

“We’ve heard from the community that their priority is cost of living relief. Additionally, the move to 60-day dispensing will support disabled and chronically ill people as they will undertake fewer trips to the pharmacist,” he said.

The Albanese Government introduced the measure in the May budget but it has been opposed by the powerful Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which claims it will hit pharmacy profits.

This is even though the government planned to repay the entire $1.2 billion it would have saved from the measure to pharmacies.

In addition, Mr Butler announced the government would spend $148 million on new grants worth up to $400,000 to rural pharmacies that would have been hardest hit by the changes.

Under the policy, the cost of 300 medicines for conditions – including cardiovascular disease, Crohn’s disease, gout, heart failure, high cholesterol, hypertension, osteoporosis and ulcerative colitis – would be slashed in half.

Instead of having to visit their chemist every month to get a new script, patients would be able to get 60 days’ supply with each script, halving the amount they have to pay for their medicine.

Patient and consumer groups, including the Consumer Health Forum, Asthma Australia, Breast Cancer Network Australia, Lung Foundation Australia, and the Australian Multicultural Health Collaborative, as well as the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, are backing the government’s policy change.

Australian Medical Association president Professor Steve Robson said: “Patients have been waiting years for cheaper medicine, as this policy has effectively been on hold since the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended it and the former Coalition government attempted to implement this recommendation in 2019. Now is the time to finally get this done.”

Professor Robson said there was no reasonable excuse to delay the policy any further, especially as the Federal Government had already committed to returning all budget savings back into pharmacies, while also providing additional funding for rural pharmacies and services in the aged care sector.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the AMA also want the price cut to go ahead.

Last week RACGP president Dr Nicole Higgins said: “I’m calling on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the Greens to put Australians first and rule out a disallowance. Sixty-day dispensing is in patients’ best interests – it will save around six million people money and time and free up GP consults for other patients.”