‘Envy of the world’: Anthony Albanese’s major election healthcare promise

Anthony Albanese has made a major election promise that would bolster one aspect of Australian life he calls “the envy of the world”.

Australia will “never negotiate” away its government-subsidised medicines as both sides of politics send a message to the US and the American drug giants.

“Their interest is in selling medicines at top dollar. Our interest is in making medicines cheaper for Australians,” Health Minister Mark Butler said.

A re-elected Labor government will further reduce the price caps on the vast majority of government-subsidised medicines, the Prime Minister announced on Thursday.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescriptions will be capped at $25 if Labor wins the upcoming election.

The Albanese government has enacted two prior PBS caps this term, bringing the maximum you spend at the pharmacist down to $42.50 and then $31.60.

The Prime Minister formally made the $25 pledge announcement at a speech on the Gold Coast on Thursday, adding the change would come into effect in January 2026. The Coalition quickly announced it would match the $25 cap.

Anthony Albanese said his mother’s experiences as an invalid pensioner, and the help she got from the local chemist, formed the fabric of his negotiations with the pharmacy sector.

“Our health system is the envy of the world and we need to defend it and protect it,” he said.

Anthony Albanese has promised to further lower medicine price caps. Picture: NewsWire / David Geraghty

“Medicare is one of the most meaningful expressions … of having a fair go.”

Lowering the PBS cap was a key cost-of-living measure and would stop people having to choose which medicines they could afford, he said.

Mr Albanese pointed to his government’s 60-day prescription scheme, medicines not rising with inflation in 2024, and the repeat lowering of PBS caps as pillars of Labor’s healthcare endeavours.

But the PBS is facing external pressure from the US.

Australian diplomats in Washington are focused on trying to get tariff exemptions on pharmaceuticals after unsuccessfully pushing the Trump administration for a pass on steel and aluminium tariffs.

US ambassador Kevin Rudd said attempts for steel and aluminium tariff exemptions were futile because of President Donald Trump’s ideology. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Those steel and aluminium tariffs are a big blow for Australian smelters, but even more medicines are exported to the US each year.

Mr Albanese alluded to the US pressure in his speech.

“We are always awake to the threats to the PBS that are here, both domestically but also overseas,” the Prime Minister said.

“The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme is not for sale.

“Despite its success, we should not take the PBS for granted.

“It is a core part of who we are Australians, and we will proudly defend it … we don’t negotiate our values.

“We do these things because they improve the lives of Australians.”

Mr Butler said Australia would “never negotiate” on cheaper medicines, as the threat of US tariffs on pharmaceuticals looms.

The Health Minister said this was not the first time “that big pharma in the US have pushed against us”, he told the ABC.

The Trump administration is being pressured by US pharmaceutical companies that are scathing of Australia’s government-subsidised medicines. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

“Their interest is in selling medicines at top dollar. Our interest is in making medicines cheaper for Australians.

“We determine the price here in Australia and a Labor government will never negotiate over the PBS.

“This will save those patients more than $200m each and every year on top of the $1.3bn we’ve already saved patients at the pharmacy counter through the previous cheaper medicines measures,” Mr Butler said of the $25 cap promise.

The previous Trump administration awarded Australia an exemption on steel and aluminium tariffs. However, this time around there was no such allowance.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson says the PBS is sacrosanct and a Coalition government would protect the scheme. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

And now American pharmaceutical giants have written to the Trump administration, calling Australia’s PBS an “unfair trade practice” and calling for “reciprocal” tariffs.

The collective letter claims Australia “penalises legitimate efforts by innovators to protect their intellectual property rights”, “systematically devalues US medicines” and fails to “appropriately recognise innovation” by preferencing cheaper “generic” versions.

Giving a foreign affairs speech on Thursday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Australia would work with the US but stand up to the drug companies.

Mr Butler said Australia would not weaken the PBS based on pressure from the US.

“We have to make it crystal clear as a government that we will not negotiate over the PBS,” the Health Minister said.

“We will not negotiate over cheaper medicines. This is utterly central – not just to people’s household budgets, but as I said, to a well-functioning healthcare system. We have one of the best in the world, and the PBS is central to that.

“We’re continuing to make negotiations through Kevin Rudd and other officials; that it is no one’s interest in Australia to put tariffs on pharmaceutical trade.

“We export pharmaceuticals to the US every year, but they export $3.5bn to us, so we’re both benefiting from free trade.”

Four out of five PBS medicines will come at or under the $25 cap. Pensioners and concession cardholders will continue to pay $7.70, which is frozen until 2030, for PBS medicines.

The PBS was “sacrosanct”, opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said on Thursday.

“It is bipartisan, and it is not on the table for any negotiations with the United States,” he told Sky News.

“As far back as the free trade agreement negotiations between Australia, which was led by John Howard with the Bush administration, there was an attempt to open up PBS, and John Howard put it off the table and said that it couldn’t be touched, and it wouldn’t be touched.

“We’ve defended it in government, and we will continue to defend it in government.”

Originally published as ‘Envy of the world’: Anthony Albanese’s major election healthcare promise