The ‘bizarre’ rule stopping Australians getting cheaper prescriptions

A “bizarre” rule is preventing Aussies from having access to cheaper or even free medications. See why and what action doctors are calling for.

EXCLUSIVE

Chemists are prevented from discounting the price of subsidised medicines under a “bizarre” government restriction that doctors want abolished.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has written to the federal government asking for the ban to be lifted as thousands of patients are unable to afford their prescription drugs.

The Australian Medical Association has urged the federal government prescription drugs more affordable.

Pharmacies that want to provide a discount to make medicines more affordable can do so but a government rule limits the size of the discount to just $1.

“They can’t discount any more than a single dollar. It’s a bizarre system that stops the market making medicine cheaper for all of us,” AMA president Professor Steve Robson said.

In a letter to Health Minister Mark Butler, Professor Robson said “the Pharmacy Guild’s Affordable Medicines campaign highlighted that around 30 per cent of Australian struggled with the costs of prescription medicines in the three years leading up to the Federal Election.”

“We know that parts of the pharmacy sector have demonstrated the capacity to provide significant discounts for patients and there is no apparent policy reason why this should not be further encouraged.”

Australian Medical Association president Professor Steve Robson wants chemists to be allowed to discount medicines. Picture: Supplied

Last year News Corp revealed Australians would be able to get some medicines for free and others at drastically-discounted prices under a plan by Chemist Warehouse to ease skyrocketing cost of living pressures.

The discount chemist chain provides all government-subsidised medicines free-of-charge to New Zealanders because the government there allows it to fully discount the government’s $5 medicines charge.

It wants to do the same thing in Australia.

Chemist Warehouse’s chief operating officer Mario Tascone said the discount chain would not provide all medicine for free but it might be able to slash the $30 general patient co-payment to $20 on some medicines and reduce the $7.30 co-payment pensioners pay to $2.

“We might be able to do some things for free. We might be able to do some things for $5. We want that flexibility,” he said.

Chemist Warehouse chief financial officer Mario Tascone. Picture: Supplied

Research released by the Grattan Institute research last year found “people with chronic illness skip pharmaceuticals at two and a half time the rate of people without a chronic condition”.

“The AMA has proposed a simple policy solution that won’t hurt the budget bottom line but will make a significant different to patients. Allowing pharmacies greater opportunities to discount medicines will make medicines more affordable and encourage competition,” Professor Robson said.

The change would cost the government nothing because it would be the chemist that bore the loss from reducing the patient co-payment.

The Pharmacy Guild opposes the proposed change because many pharmacies would be unable to afford to discount medicine prices and some people would miss out.

It would mean patients paid different amounts depending on their location and which pharmacy they visited.

Originally published as The ‘bizarre’ rule stopping Australians getting cheaper prescriptions