Senate showdown on 60-day dispensing

Mark Butler has accused the Coalition and Pharmacy Guild of wanting to permanently scrap access to cheaper medicines amid moves to torpedo 60-day dispensing rules in the Senate.

Health Minister Mark Butler says six million Australians would miss out on cheaper medicines and $1.2bn in funding put at-risk if the Coalition successfully blocks Labor’s 60-day dispensing rules in the Senate. Picture: Martin Ollman / NCA NewsWire

Health Minister Mark Butler has accused the Coalition and Pharmacy Guild of Australia of wanting to permanently scrap access to cheaper medicines, after Liberal and Nationals senators moved to torpedo Anthony Albanese’s 60-day dispensing rules in the Senate.

Ahead of a parliamentary showdown on Thursday – the last sitting day before the double dispensing changes come into effect on September 1 – Mr Butler urged crossbenchers to back the government’s policy.

Mr Butler, who will hold talks with crossbenchers overnight, warned that $1.2bn of investment in community pharmacists raised from 60-day dispensing savings would be withdrawn if the Coalition’s disallowance motion was successful. The Coalition, One Nation and independent senator David Van require backing from David Pocock, the Jacqui Lambie Network, Lidia Thorpe and Ralph Babet to stall Labor’s 60-day dispensing reforms. The Greens back the government after winning concessions on access to opioid treatments.

Amid warnings from the Pharmacy Guild about mass closures, up to 20,000 jobs lost and cut services, opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said “there are legitimate concerns that Labor’s approach to 60-day dispensing could see community pharmacies close down and result in vulnerable Australians paying more for their healthcare”.

Senator Ruston and Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie said the Coalition “strongly supports Australians having access to cheaper medicines”. They claimed Labor’s changes would “rip billions of dollars from small Australian businesses and risk the most vulnerable Australians paying more for their healthcare”.

“The government must get this right – and so far they have shown no ability to do so,” Senator Ruston said.

“Otherwise, there will be significant and foreseeable risks for Australians who need support, particularly people in rural and regional communities, aged care residents, and patients with chronic diseases.” Asked why he wouldn’t consider a pause on the 60-day dispensing policy to allow more time for consultation and modelling, Mr Butler said “this option was not put to us”.

“Because the Coalition backed the pharmacy lobby instead of six million patients, those patients have shelled out hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that the medicines experts who manage the PBS say they shouldn’t have had to pay,” Mr Butler said.

Greens health spokesman Jordon Steele-John said his party room was backing access to cheaper medicines.

“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,” Senator Steele-John said.

“We are incredibly proud that after years of the Greens calling for the change, the government has agreed to support better access to medicines for people with opioid dependency. Through our negotiations, the Greens have pushed the government to announce measures that will provide additional support to regional and rural pharmacies, along with a commitment to bring forward the negotiation on the next Community Pharmacy Agreement.”

Mr Butler said the cheaper medicines plan was “good for the hip pocket and halves the cost of these medicines for patients”.

“It’s also good for health and it frees up millions of GP consults that we desperately need for important health conditions rather than routine scripts being issued by doctors.”