Prescription medicine for cancer, cholesterol and contraception is about to get cheaper

AUSTRALIANS will save more than $75m as the price of more than 1400 prescription medicines — including one of the biggest selling drugs — drops on October 1.

THE price of more than 1400 medicines including the nation’s biggest selling drug the anticholesterol pill atorvastatin will plunge in price from Sunday.

The price cuts are due to the government’s price disclosure process that monitors the discounts chemists get on medicine prices and reduces the amount the Pharmaceutical Benefits subsidy scheme pays for them.

The price cuts will mean general consumers will save money on the scripts. Pensioners who only pay $6.30 for scripts and are unlikely to benefit.

Price falls are coming after a recent government savings measure. Picture istock

Under the changes:

* Anticholesterol pill atorvastatin will fall in price by 52 cents.

* Contraceptive pill Levlen will fall in price by $1.59 per pack.

* Cold sore treatment Zoviraxwill fall in price by $3.17.

* Tamoxifen for breast cancer will fall in price by $3.50

* Leflunomide for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis will fall in price by $4.24

* Telmisartan for high blood pressure will fall in price by $1.75

* Quetiapine for mental health conditions will fall in price by $5.94

* Capecitabine for certain types of cancer will fall in price by $6.26

Millions of Australians suffering from a range of health conditions will benefit from lower priced medications — with savings worth more than half a billion dollars for patients and taxpayers over the next four years, Health Minster Greg Hunt said.

Australians with chronic illnesses who take multiple medications daily will make the biggest savings.

Lipitor, the world's best selling drug is going to be cheaper ofr Australians. Picture: JB Reed/Bloomberg

The reductions will save the taxpayers $430 million over the next four years, with additional savings to patient out-of-pocket costs estimated at $75 million over the next four years.

These savings are part of more than $24 billion in savings estimated to be achieved by 2020-21, since price disclosure reforms began in 2007.

Labor welcomed the price cuts and said they were in part due to changes it made in 2013 to speed up the time in which applicable medicines are reduced on the PBS — saving both consumers and the government money.

However Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said the Government has only listed new medicines worth a fraction of the $20 billion handed to them by Labor’s reforms.

“They need to explain where the missing $14 billion is, money which could be going to more new medicines,” she said.

Originally published as Prescription medicine for cancer, cholesterol and contraception is about to get cheaper